Baten Kaitos: Crimson Rain
by Phoenixfire1389
Summary: (Caution: SPOILERS) The Guardian Spirit returned to her home, but she's very unhappy and can't stop thinking about Kalas. Oh, and when she came back, the monsters came with her...
1. Bittersweet, but mostly bitter

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Mountain Dew. I do not own Baten Kaitos. (Well, I have a copy of the GAME, but... ack! You all know what I mean...)I own all the other characters, though, so do not steal them!

Summary: (Caution: SPOILERS) The Guardian Spirit returned to her home, but she's very unhappy and can't stop thinking about Kalas. Oh, and when she came back, the monsters came with her... KalasxXelha, KalasxSpirit(one sided)Rated for violence, and language from the Spirit

Prologue: Bittersweet, but mostly bitter…

_Shrieking tires. Hazel green eyes widening in shock. That sickening impact like she'd been hit by a train, and then the nauseating whorl of shapes and colors as her slim, willowy body was forcibly thrown over the top of the speeding SUV, to land in a broken, crumpled, _lifeless _heap fifteen feet away from the crosswalk. Injuries: multiple broken ribs, compound fractures in her left shoulder, arm, and collarbone… skull crushed on landing. Neck broken on impact._

_Yep, she was dead all right._

_Azil was crying… heh, and she should be. Silly bitch, if she'd just stopped to _look,_ damnit, none of this would have happened!_

…

…

…

And why the _hell _did I shove her out of the way? _She mused. _I hated Azil. She treated me like _dirt_. So _why, _in the name of all things _holy _did I just do that!

_**Would you like a chance to live again, child?**_

WHAT! _Her mind was reeling. First she died, and now some disembodied voice was talking at her? This was too much to take in at once…_

**_Hmm… perhaps I was too abrupt. Humans these days, so skeptical… so I shall explain. In answer to your earliest question, little one, the reason you saved your sister, despite the fact that you despise each other, is because you are a Guardian. It is in your very nature to protect others. You can't help yourself. However, you were _not _supposed to die today. There is great need for one such as yourself, so I am giving you an opportunity. I will do something for you… resurrect your shattered body in perfect condition… if _you, _sweet Guardian, will do something for me._**

Where's the catch, whoever you are? God, perhaps? Or some sort of demon?

**_Heh, heh, heh… close, close, little Guardian. Close, but not quite. Guesses aside, there _is _no catch. You become a Guardian Spirit for me, and I'll give you your life back once your task is complete._**

What? There's _always_ a catch… but very well. I'll accept. I'm not ready to die yet.

_**I was hoping you would say that, little Guardian. No, Guardian Spirit Astarael…**_

"_I think that spirit likes you," said the white-haired girl. "Why don't you try talking to it?"_

"_Hello," said the blue-haired boy. "I'm Kalas. May I ask you your name?"_

"_Astarael…"_

"_Your task is done, Astarael!" Kalas shouted at her, his white wings blinding her. Or were those her tears, perhaps? Could she cry as a spirit? "Go back to your own world! Quit playing your silly games… I don't need you anymore!"_

_The Lava Caves started to fade out… he'd betrayed her… nothing mattered anymore…_

_Nothing…_

* * *

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! 

"Arrgh! You stupid alarm clock… shut the hell up!" the girl shouted, floundering around on top of her nightstand for the hated contraption that summoned her out of her warm and cozy bed almost every morning to go to the hellhole known as SCHOOL…

She'd nearly knocked over her reading lamp three times before she remembered that she had (Oh-so-cleverly, in her opinion at seven p.m. on last Friday night) moved the alarm clock to the shelf _under _her nightstand, and far enough away from her bed that she couldn't reach it and shut it off accidentally in her sleep. She had checked this before going to bed the night before. (At 3 a.m. Damn stupid nightmares, she'd forgiven Kalas, she'd _wanted _to forgive Kalas, and he'd earned that forgiveness. Why was she still having that nightmare? Why?)

In short, there was no way she was going to be able to turn off the hateful alarm without getting out of bed.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! it reminded her. For some reason, the beeping sounded more sadistic than usual this morning.

"Life was more fun when I was dead.," she groaned, kicking off the blankets and swinging herself out of bed, so she could kneel and shut off the god-forsaken Clock of Doom. Someday, she was going to reduce that hateful thing to a mound of smoking, shapeless plastic and melted electrical wires. She could almost hear its feeble, dying beeps. Someday…

Spirits had it lucky. Not only did they not get tired, they didn't have to go to school.

She staggered over to the far side of the room and slapped the wall multiple times before she found the lightswitch. The sudden brilliance of four, 120-watt bulbs coming on simultaneously at full blast made her close her eyes with a yelp, and reached blindly for the dimmer. Once the radiance had reached tolerable pre-Mountain Dew/shower levels, she staggered into the bathroom, turned on yet another light that was too bright, and turned on the shower. After making sure that errant jets of liquid were not going to cover the bathroom floor in water, she proceeded to sneak stealthily out of her room to obtain a can of liquid energy from the refrigerator in the kitchen downstairs.

Five minutes later she was back in her room, green can in hand,sitting on her bedand drinking the mana of life, staring out her window, and listening to the soothing, constant sound of water hitting bathtub as the shower warmed up. The only good thing about the morning was in her hand.

She sat there on her bed, facing east, for all of five minutes before putting down the three-quarters-empty can of soda with a dejected sigh and preparing herself for part two of the wakeup process… The Shower That Might Be Warm By Now. With an expression of extreme reluctance… how she _longed _for the blissfully dreamless sleep of a mere ten (fifteen...?)minutes ago… she closed the blinds and started unbuttoning her nightgown.

An unearthly scream distracted her from this ritual of preparation for Entry Into the Unspeakable. She had become very well acquainted with that sound and its cousins in the three years since she'd been mowed down by a drunk driver.

That sound meant there was a monster nearby.

A smile crept across her fair features, and her yellow eyes lit up. She pulled on a pair of biking shorts, a pair of sneakers, and snatched her weapon out of her purse. There wasn't any need to bother with mask or hat right now… no one was up at this ungodly hour who was going to recognize her, anyway.

"Perhaps today won't be so boring after all," she murmured as she unwound her whip, Briar Rose, and ghosted out of the house.


	2. Movement and Anger Management

DISCLAIMER: Don't own Mountain Dew. Don't own Baten Kaitos. Which means I don't own Kalas. (cries)

A/n: in the last chapter, when I made the comment about how spirits don't have to sleep or go to school, that was one of Astarael's thoughts. Basically, she was missing being a spirit. Sorry if this confused some people…

Chapter 1: Movement and Anger Management

Astarael stared at the toaster, waiting for her breakfast, while trying to tune out her mother's latest lecture.

"…room! There must be a _year's _worth of dust on your bookshelf! It's disgraceful! I…"

"Uh-huh," Astarael muttered. Who cared about how clean her room was? It was HER bedroom. HER sanctuary. And as far as she was concerned, her mother had no right to tell her what to do with it.

_One place… just ONE place in this whole fucking house that is mine and that no one can enter. Is that too much to ask for? Is it? Aren't there enough rooms in this place without violating the two that belong to me?_

It wasn't even seven o'clock yet, and her mother was starting to try her last nerve. NO ONE should do that before nine o'clock, or at LEAST until after she'd had her second Mountain Dew.

"…get home, I want you to dust, young lady! Are you listening to me, Astra?"

"Yes, Mother," Astarael replied automatically. Astra was her childhood nickname; only her _friends _were allowed to call her Astarael. Because names had power…

_As if this old bat needs ANOTHER hold over me! The nerve of her, lecturing me so early in the morning! What happened to, 'Good morning, Astra?" or, 'Did you sleep well, Astra?' Would it KILL this woman to lay off the nagging? Just for a little while? I just have to remember, I'm gonna be eighteen in March… eighteen in march… real driver's license in March… legal adult in March… _free_ in March…_

"So, what are you going to do when you come home?"

"I am going to dust my room, practice my piano for an hour, and do my homework, Mother." The older woman scowled, as if disappointed Astarael had remembered everything. However, she started in on a long-winded speech on the importance of listening as the toast finally popped, and she snagged it and started covering it in strawberry jam. She'd buy herself a real breakfast from the school cafeteria.

"Is that all you're going to have for breakfast?"

"_Yes,_" Astarael snapped.

"That's not enough for you to eat," she stated. "You can't eat nothing but toast. Breakfast is an important meal. You need something from at _least _three of the five food groups. Get yourself some bananas."

"Mom, I need to be leaving in five minutes. And you need to start making my lunch."

"Astra…"

Munch, munch, munch. Tuning out now…

* * *

"I can't believe it! You missed the bus! AGAIN!" her mother shrieked, smacking the steering wheel.

"You know, if you had started making my lunch when I got downstairs…"

"Don't you give me any lip, young lady!" snarled the older woman. "This is YOUR fault…"

_No. It's not._

"Ever since the accident, you've been acting stranger and stranger! Are you sure you don't want your medicine adjusted?"

"Mother, haven't we had this conversation before?" Astarael asked, struggling to keep her voice level. "You know how I hate it when every time I have an emotional or behavioral problem, you immediately jump to the medication. I am a person. I will not be treated like a machine." _Besides, I haven't taken any of that crap since I woke up. It might interfere with my magic._

"So snappish since she came back to us…" The woman driving muttered. "She used to be such a biddable child. Now she's just as fresh as Azil…"

"I can still hear you, Mother. Don't talk about me like I'm not here," Astarael growled. _Hellfire. Lingering Time. Demons of Darkness… but I can't destroy her, can I? Because she's my mother…_

_Damn my morals. Damn them!_

"Yes, just as snappish as Azil, without the redeeming grades…"

_Did she just… No, I did not hear that. Even she does not compare us to each other negatively. At least, not in our hearing. She did not say that horrible thing. My ears are clearly malfunctioning._

Her honey-yellow eyes burned, but she did not cry. In the back of her mind, she could hear an echo of Kalas's voice…

"_I don't need you anymore. Go back to your own world… leave me be…"_

You could really tell it was a Monday. She hadn't walked into the cursed building, and the day was already sucking…

_I am a statue. I am Melodia. Cold. Unfeeling. Heartless. I do not care about what she is saying. She means less than dirt to me. Her words are smoke. I am a statue that has blue, brown-tipped hair and yellow eyes. I do not cry. I will NEVER cry for her._

"Have a good day, sweetie!" her mother exclaimed happily, smiling at her,

"You too," Astarael muttered, snatching up her purse and her backpack and all but fleeing from the green minivan. _Hypocritical bitch, _she snarled inside her head. _But am I talking about her, or myself?_

_Need a monster attack today. Need to kill something else already. _The monster earlier that morning had once been a dog, corrupted by whatever evil she had brought back with her, not really a real challenge. The strange thing was, the dark presence felt like Malpercio's taint. But that was impossible, Malpercio was dead.

Wasn't it?

_Stupid. I already have a detention for skipping out of the last code C. If anything, I really need the monsters to lay off a bit and leave me alone in school. And Malpercio is FINALLY dead. I wouldn't have been permitted to return home if it wasn't. I just want to see Kalas and the others again. It's not happening. I'm stuck with my mediocre life, whether I want to be or not…_

She still wanted to kill something, though. Fighting was the only way she could keep her pent-up frustrations from bubbling over and causing her to lash out with her tongue… or worse, her actions (like that time she had used her magic-enhanced strength to hurl that dodge ball at that poor freshman. He HAD been trying to snap her bra strap when they had been lined up to pair off, but that was no real excuse for giving him a concussion.)

"Shit," she hissed. If she hurried, she could use the money she had stolen out of the coin jar at home to buy herself a bottle of Mountain Dew Code red and something to eat before the bell rang for first period. Not that it really mattered if she was late, first period was study hall. But still…

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

First bell. She WAS going to be late. And she was developing a true loathing of anything that made a beeping noise...

"Oh well," she sighed. Food and caffeine were more important than punctuality anyway.

* * *

"…method, which is important for the dissection of…"

Nod.

Start.

"…which we shall be covering for our…"

Nod.

Start.

"…row, and I expect you…."

_Hellfire, I can't fall asleep in biology! We're dissecting the frogs today! Think unhappy thoughts… think about Melodia… Demon undead bitch, I don't understand why everyone forgave her, she corrupted Kalas, he never would have betrayed me if it weren't for her, and we never would have met Xelha, and…_

_Okay, awake now._

"So today, since the shipment of frogs is late, we will simply be going over your homework."

Astarael stared at the teacher blankly. Homework? They'd had homework? He hadn't….

Wait. Yes, he had. Right at the end of class on Friday. And she had started it, then blown the rest off to go and patrol for monsters. She had found a rather big nest too, between getting rid of the monsters and magically removing the blood from her clothes and hair, she had barely had enough strength to get home. _And I had horrible nightmares when I did fall asleep. Nightmares about Cor Hydrae. But I can't tell my teacher that, can I? I can imagine how that conversation would go… "I'm sorry Mr. Hal; I didn't finish my homework because I was busy killing rabid monsters and keeping people like you safe…" Yeah, that would go beautifully, and then I would be thrown in jail for my vigilante work… and M. Hal doesn't believe in half credit… crap. Crap. Crap. Shit…_

"Miss Sanders, do you have the assignment?"

"No, Sir…" she replied meekly, biting her lip as she went over her class average. Was she failing Biology?

Yes. Yes she was. And very badly, too. She needed to start actually DOING her homework… what had gotten into her? Before the accident she had been erratic with her homework, but never THIS bad…

_God, what is WRONG with me? _She wailed. But He was silent as usual. If she hadn't been in class, she would have flipped him the finger.

* * *

Kalas sat up with a start. He'd had a nightmare about the Ursa Lava Caves. Again.

_I'm never going to talk to her again. Even when she was here, I could barely see her. So why am I still thinking about Astarael? Why do I get the feeling she's in danger?_

"Kalas?" Xehla murmured, stirring next to him in the bed. "What's wrong, Kalas?"

"Nothing," He replied, stroking her blonde hair lovingly. "Go back to sleep."

"k… g'night," she muttered, nuzzling against him.


	3. A Break, A Friend, and A Monster

Disclaimer: Don't own Mountain Dew. Don't own Baten Kaitos. My life has no meaning… (cries)

Chapter 2: A Break, a Friend, and a Monster

"School is hell on earth. Whoever invented homework is one sadistic bastard," Astarael groaned, tossing her bagged lunch onto the table and collapsing into the green plastic chair, twisting the top off her third bottle of mountain dew. Aaah, the sound of pressurized air being released in the early afternoon…

"Someday, that crap is going to kill you, Astarael," commented her best friend, Selih.

"What makes you say that? I run off of sugar and caffeine!" scoffed Astarael.

"Exactly. Can you say unhealthy? Plus, that crap is carbonated. Ugh!" Selih exclaimed with a theatrical shudder. Astarael only shrugged and took a huge swig of the cherry liquid, which prompted Selih to roll her eyes.

Selih and Astarael had been best friends since seventh grade, but most people wouldn't get that just from looking at them. If you judged by appearance, they were total opposites. Astarael was thin, almost frail-looking, and exotic with her blue, brown tipped hair and golden eyes. Selih was barely an inch taller, but stocky, with normal brown hair and dark brown eyes. Even though they were both fairly intelligent, Astarael lacked Selih's drive to succeed, and usually ended up with grades a full mark lower, when she bothered to hand anything in at all. This didn't bother Astarael in the slightest.

She didn't care about school. Often, she wondered why she hadn't blown the whole building to bits yet…

"I'm failing Biology."

Selih almost choked on her chocolate milk. "_Excuse me!"_ she spluttered.

"You heard me the first time. Otherwise, you wouldn't look like you were going to have a heart attack. Breathe, Selih, breathe," Astarael replied with a hint of a grin.

"You. Failing. Subject. Bad," Selih choked out.

"Yeah, it's clashing with the whole 'save the world from the ignorant fools' campaign. STWFIF."

"You need more vowels in there if you want a decent acronym," Selih responded automatically, giving herself time to think. "Astarael, this is _serious._ I know you're not very keen on school, but you've never actually been in danger of failing! Have you even been DOING your homework this marking period? And… you're STILL not sleeping, are you?"

"Oh, I sleep…"

"An hour a night is not 'sleep'."

"Am I dead yet? No."

"Well no _duh…_ but you need to sleep. You're going to lose your edge if you keep on trying to survive on caffeine and candy alone. Promise me that you're going to get at LEAST six hours of sleep tonight!"

"Or else…?"

"I'll tell your mother about…"

"GAH! ENOUGH! Fine, I promise." Which would be more embarrassing for her mother to find out about? The grades? The boy? Or possibly the fact that she could now sprout _wings_ when she felt so inclined? "Hey, with that out of the way, will you help me think of a decent name for my mission?"

"How about Operation Crimson Rain?" Selih suggested, with a pointed glance at Astarael's purse.

"You're just jealous because YOU don't have a whip that tears things into bloody pieces," Astarael teased, sticking out her tongue. Selih rolled her eyes and they both laughed. The people at the nearest table stared at them like they were crazy. Perhaps they were…

* * *

Class. Class. Study Hall, where she actually did her math homework for a change. Selih would be proud of her…

Class. Bell.

Bus ride home.

"Hey, it's the freak!" exclaimed one of the stupid boys who sat near her claimed seat, the very last one in the back, on the right. She glared at him, and he winced.

Gutless Freshman. Not worth a retort, freshmen were too stupid to be worth her time, anyway. (A/n: No offense to freshmen! This is just the way Astarael thinks, 'cause she's a senior. Plus, she's in a bad mood, which makes her 100x more likely to insult people in her thoughts.)

She glided to her seat and sat down, tossing her backpack into the seat next to her. No one had ever disputed her claim to these seats. Last year she had sat with her other two closest friends, Kala and Alys, but they had graduated the previous year, and none of the scum that rode the bus now were worthy of taking their places. Oh, they'd _like _to, certainly, but none of them could match her glare. Her golden eyes and blue, brown-tipped hair unnerved them all. _I wonder what the likkle children would think of my Wings of the Heart…_

In addition to her exotic appearance, she was one of the few seniors who didn't drive to and from school. Which made her a goddess in her own right, as far as the lower classmen were concerned.

_Stupid high school. After June, I'll never have to waist time in a classroom again. Blessed be God!_

She stiffened. She sensed trouble.

"Is anyone sitting next to you, girlie?" asked a big, stupid-looking guy she didn't recognize.

"Yes. My imaginary friend. Now piss off, stoner asswipe," she snarled, not bothering to check her language, the way she would have for another (presumably) new kid. He really did reek of what she was fairly sure was weed.

"Hey, girlie, that wasn't really a question…" a gut blow and her not-so subtle shove convinced him otherwise. The bus filled with mocking laughter as the hulking boy staggered off to an unoccupied seat in the middle of the bus, glaring death at her.

"This isn't over, bitch!" he gasped.

"Really? Then bring friends. You'll need the help. And don't insult me by coming to fight me unless you're clean and sober, or I swear to God that I'll send you to the emergency. Ambush me, and I have no responsibility to any misfortune that might befall you." Astarael smirked at him. Stoner's eyes went wide. _Was he expecting me to burst into tears when he called me a bitch? Hah!_

_Well, that was an interesting diversion, _she thought, pulling out the latest copy of Shonen Jump (smuggled into school for her personal entertainment)

* * *

Astarael was tense at the thought of a confrontation with her mother (there always was one whenever she entered the house) and a little worried about her grades (only because when her parents found out about them, she would have to work around even more restrictions to keep everyone safe) as she was walking home through the brisk autumn weather. Which was probably why she was caught off-guard when she was attacked.

"Kryee!" shrieked the huge, mutated bird that might have once been a crow as it dived down out of the trees at her. She lurched forward in shock, and the talons shredded her backpack straps and the back of her blouse instead of her face and shoulders. The overweight purple backpack dropped to the ground with an angry thudding noise, and several cracks. With only a brief pause to wonder what she'd broken this time (Hopefully not her graphing calculator, those were expensive) she screamed loudly for the benefit of the few people walking home with her and ducked into the brush. She needed to get further into the woods before she drew her weapon or called out her Wings to perform some magic. Luckily, the crow thing decided to follow her instead of attacking her helpless classmates, who were currently dashing for their houses, ignoring her. Well, even though their cowardice bothered her immensely, it really worked in her favor. Without the mask, and the hat to hide her rather notorious hair, she couldn't really do anything about a monster with any witnesses nearby.

"Kak!" she gasped, barely ducking under the talons again. She'd let herself get distracted. _Stupid…_

She and the onetime crow squared off, circling one another through the trees. Both were at a disadvantage due to the terrain. The crow fought better in the open sky, especially now that it was three times its natural size, and Astarael couldn't use her whip properly because of the trees…

_Eh? _Astarael thought. The 'crow' had opened its beak wide and was now gathering some sort of black light… _aw, crap!_

She hurled herself out of the way just in the nick of time. A bolt of black magic hurtled out of the monster's mouth and slammed into her previous position, blowing large chunks out of the tree and decimating the briar bushes, like the one Astarael had landed in. Scratched, angry, and disheveled, the former Guardian Spirit rose from the thorn bush, her pretty face twisted in rage. Suddenly, without warning, three pairs of wings erupted from her slender form, two pairs from her back and one from her ears. Each wing was a different color. The two that had burst from her head were green and sky blue, the pair extending from her shoulder blades were red and dark blue, and the pair that graced her lower back were white and black. Her wingspan was easily ten feet long, possibly twelve. The crow was very bad at judging distance.

"**I am the Light, dispeller of Darkness!"** Astarael cried. The crow wanted to move as the young girl gathered blinding white energy in her hands and her wings shone brighter than the noonday sun, but it couldn't seem to control its wings anymore. It simply maintained its position, transfixed by the terrible power of the Guardian. **"Guardian Spell: Shining Seraphim!"**

* * *

Astarael grimaced as her sight started to return to her. She had always hated casting Shining Seraphim, because the glow temporarily blinded everyone who saw it, even her. For some reason, the spell hadn't shone nearly as brightly when Kalas or Xelha had used it. Perhaps it was because she was more powerful with her physical body?

_I shouldn't be worrying about something as trivial as that, _Astarael thought angrily as she started trudging back to her ruined backpack. She was going to have to carry it all the way to her house by the stupid handle on the side… _Arrg, stop it! I need to be worrying about why the monsters can suddenly use magical attacks! By the Whale, it was hard enough to deal with them before…_

Of course, part of her mind wasn't thinking along those lines. Part of her mind was positively giddy at the thought of a new challenge…

_Stop it! There's more to life than fighting!_

_Oh really? _Another part of her mind asked. _Like what, school? Homework? Parents? Face it; you'd be bored out of your mind without the monsters to fight. This whole world is boring. The monsters are just fine, they spice things up a little. Existence would be pale and bland without them._

"Shut up, you," she muttered aloud. When she realized what she'd done, she smacked herself on the forehead. She was talking to herself now. Great. Would it be the voices next?

With an unpleasant jolt, she realized her wings were still out. She drew them in with a muffled "Shit!" and glanced around wildly. After a minute or two, she managed to convince herself that there really wasn't anyone out there. _Selih's right. I need more sleep…_

The black-winged figure smiled darkly. Astarael had destroyed the first magic-using monster she had managed to create since coming to this godforsaken rock, but she had been expecting nothing less from the entity that had been responsible for her destruction. A smile crept across the face of the fallen god. Everything was going _exactly _according to her plan…

* * *

Preview for next chapter

"**What!" Kalas exclaimed, his grip on Xelha tightening.**

"**You heard the Great Mizuti!" Mizuti said happily. It was still a little eerie to see her without her mask. "The Great Mizuti be finding a rift between dimensions! We can go visit the Spirit!"**

* * *

Author's Note: I know that in the game the spell is really "Shining Seraph", but I always believed that the creators really meant to put in "Shining Seraphim", and it was either butchered in translation, or they ran out of room. Besides, since the opposing spell is "Demons of Darkness", "Shining Seraph**im**" makes since, since Seraphim are angels.

Annd... YAAY! SIX REVIEWS! I LOVE YOU ALL! Please continue to read my story, and review! I will update if I get two or more (looks hopeful) reviews for this chapter. So review if you want to see the story continued...


	4. One Big, Unhappy Family

Disclaimer: This is where I say stuff about how I don't own Mountain Dew, Kalas, pixie sticks, skittles, and Baten Kaitos in general. Although, considering I'm lucky to have more than five dollars to my name at any given time, you'd have to be crazy to sue me.

A/N: NINE REVIEWS! NINE OF THEM! I'M SOOOOOOO HAPPY! (However, Quick Edit must DIE.)

On a side note, I'm introducing the rest of Astarael's family in this chapter. Since her mom is just such a WONDERFUL person, I think you can guess how DELIGHTFUL the rest of her family is going to be…

And Astarael has a stalker! He heh heh… I really created Rob to lighten the mood a little bit. He's a nice stalker (if such a thing actually exists). Astarael hates him, though.

**Responses**

Coatlicue7: I'll type you up a Baten Kaitos summary later if you want one, but I strongly recommend buying the game and playing it for yourself: half the fun is all the plot twists! (Although if you're reading this, you've just spoiled the best one for yourself… oh well, guess you'll just HAVE to read my summary…)

xwoman2: Oooh! A convert! Lol, I'm glad you're reading my story. I don't read very many Mary Sue stories myself, but somehow everything I write seems to end up being a crossover or a Mary Sue… guess that makes me a hypocrite, huh? (Although I love crossover fics, especially Yu-Gi-Oh/Harry Potter crossovers!)

wingsofheart: Yay! I'm glad you agree! I also played Tales of Symphonia before I played this game.

* * *

Chapter 3: One Big, Unhappy Family (KYAH! SOMEONE HELP ME WITH THE TITLE, PLEASE!)

"I'm home!" Astarael grunted, dropping her backpack in the mudroom with a thud that must have shaken the house to its foundations. It had been WORK dragging the damn thing home, mostly because she daren't risk a spell that could fix it. She hadn't been able to shake the feeling that she had been being watched the entire walk home.

Her dog, Sabrina, barked and dashed to the mudroom , jumping up and down in glee at the prospect of her afternoon walk.. "Okay, Sabrina, it's time for your walkie!"

"Bark!" Sabrina exclaimed happily, her light brown eyes shining with the single-minded love that only a dog was capable of.

"Hang on young lady!" her mother shouted. "I got your progress report today, and…"

Astarael had never slammed the mudroom door shut so quickly in her life. _Oh, shit! _Progress reports weren't supposed to come home for…

Two days. They had gone out last Friday. There was no mail on Sundays. Which meant that the hateful Missive From Hades was… had been… due today. Monday.

_The ONE day I get attacked AFTER school. God, I HATE Mondays! Nothing good ever happens on Mondays!_

"Well, I hadn't been expecting the shit to hit the fan this soon, Sabrina," she said to her dog, who was currently chasing their cat, Smoky, across the yard.

Oh, today was just getting better and better…

"…in danger of failing every subject! I don't believe it! You just wait until your father gets home… and WHAT did I say about drinking soda during the week!" her mother snarled.

"Do I say things like that when you drink coffee?" Astarael asked.

"That's totally different!" the older woman shouted, slamming her iron down on the ironing board, causing the thing to overbalance and fall to the floor. Astarael suppressed a smirk as her mother shot her a death glare. Honestly, how could it be HER fault, she wasn't technically even in the same room!

"Yes, it is. This tastes better," Astarael replied evenly, downing the other half of the can of Mountain Dew in a few gulps.

"Don't gulp your drink! Only boys drinking beer gulp their drinks! You are a young lady, and you must act like one!"

"Yes, ma'am," Astarael replied in her very best neutral tone.

"And apologize for your outburst earlier! Proper young women don't talk back to their parents that way! I though you had learned that lesson!"

"I'm sorry, Mother. I'm just a tad on edge, since a huge bird tried to kill me on my way home today."

"Wait. WHAT?" An extremely displeased look crossed her face. "Astra, you need to be more careful! Do you want to end up in another coma?"

_I don't know… I wouldn't have to deal with YOU, and that would be an improvement…_

"No," Astarael replied absently, fishing around in the refrigerator for some cheese. Cheese and crackers was her favorite snack in the whole world, next to skittles and pixie sticks. But her mother would die before she let skittles and pixie sticks into the house, so she'd just have to settle for the next best thing.

"Astra, you don't seem very concerned."

"Well, it only took one swipe at me and flew away," Astarael lied smoothly.

"I can see. You've ruined another shirt."

"And my backpack."

"Astra…!"

"Well, if I hadn't ducked, it probably would have taken off my head!" Astarael snapped, finally losing her temper. She was so sick of the hypocrisy, the constant lectures, the deception…! "I could have DIED! And you're worried about some stupid piece of CANVAS?"

Her mother glared at her in a mix of hurt and fury for a moment, before her expression became cold as ice.

"I see where this is going."

_Huh? _Had she finally knocked some common sense into her mother? _No, not with THAT expression… oh, I think this is going to be _bad_…_

"You're trying to get me so angry, that I'll forget about your grades. You provoked that bird, didn't you?"

_Say_ what? _That is…_

"That is… the most ridiculous thing…!" Astarael spluttered.

"Don't you talk back to me, young lady!" her mother roared. "You sit down!"

Astarael didn't move.

"You're not eighteen yet, Astarael. And unless you want me to make your life a living hell, you will sit down. Now."

* * *

"HELLFIRE!" Astarael shouted at the top of her lungs once she had reached the safety of her rooms. And, predictably, a stack of paper sitting on top of her desk burst into flames. Astarael only scowled at the burning paper; she had cast a fireproofing spell on her desk a LONG time ago. Once it had put itself out, she stalked over to the door between her sitting room and her bedroom and slammed it shut as hard as she dared, knowing that the silencing ward she had cast on her rooms would absorb the noise. Slamming doors wasn't nearly as much fun as it had once been, though. She couldn't put her full strength into the act of slamming, because that would reduce the door to splinters.

And she really liked her doors.

They _locked. _And if her mother was forced tobuy any newdoors, she was fairlycertain that the replacements wouldn't.

So, she resorted to her second favorite stress reliever: pacing.

Up, down. Left, right. How long until Azil and Rana were home? Ten, eleven, twelve, wall, TURN, one, two, three…

* * *

Sabrina barking. Who was home?

_Azil, probably. The 3:10 bus at the high school is always home before the elementary school bus._

"Hi, mom!" came the falsely perky voice. Astarael barely resisted the urge to punch a wall.

Azil and Astarael both hated their mother, Deborah Sanders. That was where the common ground ended.

Azil got great grades but hated reading in her spare time.

Astarael's grades sucked, but she loved reading.

Azil was popular and loved participating in school sports.

Astarael was on speaking terms with a grand total of maybe four people in a school of sixteen hundred. Since Kala and Alys had gone to college, Astarael no longer had a reason to participate in the one sport she DID like. (Fencing, although technically fencing was a club sport…)

Azil dressed prep, or whatever the current 'in' fashion was.

Astarael dressed a mix of medieval cut stuff, random jeans, and some traditional Goth attire.

Azil was pretty in the normal looking way.

Astarael was pretty in the freakish-looking way.

Azil watched reality TV.

Astarael watched Japanese anime and other cartoons.

Azil seemed to have a new boyfriend every week.

Astarael (though much sought after) had never been on a single date.

Long story short, they were not on speaking terms. The fact that Astarael had quite literally died saving Azil's miserable life had not made things any easier. In fact, Azil had been pointedly avoiding Astarael ever since the latter had awoken from her coma. Azil refused to even be in the same _room _as Selih, a fact that pissed Astarael off to no end. _Where dose that suck-up get off insulting my best friend like that?_

_Oh. Right. Azil equalsMom's pet._

Her door burst open. Standing in the doorway was the Princess Bitch herself.

"Mom wants you downstairs," Azil sneered.

_Why does this girl remind me of Melodia?_

"Whatever." Oh, yes. Another lecture. Joy and ecstasy.

_Mondays hereby officially _**UBER **_suck.

* * *

_

"Phone's for you," her mother snapped, jabbing the iron angrily at the kitchen table. Stupefied, Astarael picked up the phone. _Please be Selih, PLEASE be Selih…_

"Hello?" Astarael asked tentatively.

"Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeey! Astra!" replied the most annoying male voice on the planet. _God no, not him! Haven't you tortured me enough today?_

Apparently not…

"Hello Rob," she said coldly mouthing the words, _fuck off, asshole _into the empty air. "And before you say anything, I will not go out with you, I will not come over to your house, I do not accept gifts, I will not go into town with you and 'a couple of friends', and if you call me again today I **will **do something drastic!"

She slammed down the phone. She could picture Rob's hurt expression, and flinched in spite of herself. Normally, she at least tried to be civil when she was getting rid of him, despite the fact that he drove her insane. Rob was like a puppy dog: no matter how annoying a puppy dog was, it still made you feel like a jerk if you kicked it.

Rob was in her grade. He had had a crush on her since she had returned to school in the middle of their junior year, when she had politely turned him down.

He had not-so-subtly been stalking her ever since.

"Astra, I don't see why you're always so mean to Robert. He's such a sweet boy, and he really seems to care about you…"

"He's a _stalker_, Mom. He calls me every night, and tries to follow me around in school! It's not sweet, it's creepy!" There was no way she would ever date someone like Rob. He was a stalker, first of all. And about a hundred thousand times too clingy. Well… she MIGHT date him out of pity…

Possibly.

If her mother forced her to go to the senior prom…

"Astra, it's high time you started to date. I'm really starting to worry about you…"

The Boys and Social Life lecture again.

Joy and Eternal Happiness…

* * *

One argument with BOTH her little sisters later, Astarael found herself sprawled on her bed, nursing a bruised cheek. Rana had HIT her! And she, not Rana, was the one grounded! It didn't make any sense!

"I hate my life. I wish I'd never left Kalas," she sighed, staring up at her off white ceiling.

And what the hell had happened to Rana, anyway? She had always had temper problems, sure, but never nearly THIS bad (Except that one time she had chased Azil around the house with a knife… maybe it wasn't such a good idea to go into that…)

And her father, too. Lately, he was twice as prone to losing his temper as usual, and she was SURE that it wasn't her imagination. What was happening to her family? Why was everything falling apart?

Astarael buried her head in her pillow and did something she hadn't done since she had awoken from her coma in the hospital. She burst into tears.

* * *

The female with black wings looked down at the tendrils of darkness filtering through the area. The Guardian hadn't noticed them, she was new in her magic despite her strength, and these subtle things tended to escape her. This was good. The Guardian's friend was going to be a problem. The girl had almost matured to the point where she would be able to see the darkness running though everything. This was not good.

But it wouldn't matter soon. Soon, the Guardian would fall.

And then everything would belong to her, as it should be.

* * *

"…five more minutes…" the blue-haired man grumbled, rolling over despite the woman shaking him.

"No, Kalas, we need to go meet Mizuti NOW!" Xelha growled. Briefly, the yellow-eyed woman wracked her brain for a way to get her lazy lover out of bed. Her left hand fell on a Magnus card, which she picked up and looked at for a moment before grinning evilly. "Aqua Burst!" she shouted, throwing the card at Kalas.

"GAH!" he shouted as he was suddenly drenched in the cold wetness of the spell. Luckily, it was only a level one spell, so it didn't hurt him. Much. "That wasn't funny, Xelha!"

"Yes, it was!" she gasped. Kalas growled and hurled a wet pillow at her, knocking her off balance to land in a chair. "Aaah, sorry, Kalas. I guess you're just a bad influence on me."

"…yeah…" It WAS the sort of trick that he would have pulled, Xelha had him there.

"Well, now that you're up, we have to meet Mizuti in front of the Queen's palace! Come on already!" she exclaimed, tugging at his shoulder.

"All right, I'm coming!" Kalas replied, snapping on his winglet.

* * *

Astarael groaned, dried her eyes, and rolled halfway off her bed to look at the evil clock. 4:31 pm. About four hours and thirty minutes before she could lie and say that she was going to bed, but she REALLY wanted to go on a patrol NOW. So, this left her with only one option.

She closed all the drapes and focused her energies. Something that would protect her family while she was gone… (For some reason, her magic seemed to be strongest when she visualized something that she wanted to protect, and this was going to take most of her strength.)

Her energies clumped together and slowly, slowly, formed a very solid illusion of Astarael. It was more of a doppelganger, really. It was only capable of completing simple commands, could only say basic things like 'Yes' and 'No', and would crumble to dust if she didn't renew the magic keeping it animated after three hours.

Astarael frowned. It wasn't a very good stand-in, but it was the best she had been able to make after six whole months of attempts. In fact, it was only recently that she had been able to get it to move by itself or talk at all.

"Sit at the computer," she ordered the doppelganger. "If mom comes in, tell her you're doing homework."

She looked at the clock again. 4:51. Still an hour left before dinner.

With a wild grin, she summoned some of her rapidly-depleting energies to make herself invisible for a short period of time and slipped out of her house. No one would notice she was gone. In fact, as long as she stayed out of the way, no one had ever paid much attention to her. During past summers, before the accident, she had often spent days at a time in her bedroom, coming down only to eat. Her mother had only complained because her isolation didn't fit the definition of 'normal'.

Did any of them _really _care?

_Stop thinking stupid things like that. First of all, it's pathetic. You're just feeling sorry for yourself. Secondly, it's counterproductive. You don't fight well when you're all depressed._

Because that was all that really mattered, wasn't it? Fight. Kill. Protect. That was all that a Guardian was good for, right? No one seemed to care as long as she did what she was supposed to.

_Astarael Sanders! You will stop all this self pity crap right now! You're better than this!_

Six wings of different colors beat the sky as the girl scanned the ground, looking for trouble, and possibly a little peace of mind.

* * *

(A/N)

Okay, I goofed. That little preview that I put in the last chapter? That'll happen **next chapter**. It just didn't want to fit in this one, which is part of the reason it's taken me so long to update. The other part of the reason is that I (foolishly) tried to beat Suikoden IV in two and a half days, which is the amount of time I had before school started up again and it had to go back to the rental place.


	5. Warnings of Pain

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to a) Baten Kaitos b) Fire Emblem or c) Mountain Dew. Actually, this is the first chapter where I do not make a reference to Mountain Dew. I put it in the disclaimer out of tradition.

This chapter will contain, as usual, cursing and spoilers for Baten Kaitos. Previous chapters have contained unhealthy amounts of caffeine consumption. I personally believe that if you cut Astarael open, her blood would be 25 percent Mountain Dew… but that's not really the point. On with the story!

Chapter 4: Warnings of Pain

_Crack!_

Her whip snapped forward effortlessly, with a speed and grace achieved by long hours of practice, and wrapped around the hapless creature. With a jerk of her wrist, she pulled it back. Blood and fur went flying everywhere as the shuriken embedded in her whip tore the monster to pieces, and as the whip came back it wrapped around yet another monster.

"_Sure, I can get you the stuff. But why are you making a weapon, Astarael?" Kala asked, her brown eyes darkening._

"_I'll explain when you get back. Just take the money and go," Astarael snapped, shoving the fistful of bills into Kala's hands. Kala's glare said that the younger girl had some _major _explaining to do…_

Crimson droplets flew everywhere. There was nothing left moving in the small clearing but the lone woman, who was panting and covered in blood.

The dark sky opened up, and the rain that had been threatening all day started falling. She had always thought, as a child, that the sky always looked like it was crying when it did this.

"Time to go home," Astarael said darkly.

**

* * *

The rain fell on the roof.**

Astarael screamed and kicked her white gorilla.

No internet access, no video games, no ANYTHING that made her life fun. Except killing things.

Because that was all her parents didn't know about. The killing. _That's what you get for being honest…_

"What a sick little girl am I," she muttered, as she kicked her wards against evil up from 'disable' to 'flash fry'. She REALLY wanted to see something burn. And all because of some stupid pieces of paper that didn't really have any bearing on anything.

_When did I become so violent?_

There was only one place she really wanted to be, one place that she would never see again. Someplace where life was more about getting ahead.

She kicked the gorilla again and listened to the rain fall, silently telling herself that she didn't want to go out and destroy something. She was lying again, of course.

**

* * *

Kalas leaned against the wall of the Magic Institute, trying to tell himself that he wasn't annoyed at Mizuti for being late (Stupid… she said that she had something very important to tell them, and then she didn't show up!). It was a very warm morning, and he was having trouble keeping hiss eyes open for some reason… and Xelha had left to search the city for Mizuti and hadn't come back yet…**

It was really aggravating to be falling asleep while he was annoyed, but…

_A girl with short blue hair screamed and threw herself on the ground as a hail of bullets flew over her head. Blood was already leaking out of a large gash in her tight-fitting navy blue top, darkening the color to almost black and staining her kaki slacks a vibrant crimson…_

_She hit the ground on her injured side and was already rolling when a blur of color slammed into her previous position._

"_You'll have to do better than that!" sneered Folon, despite the fact that parts of his blue/orange hair were slick with his own blood. The girl whirled, bringing her weapon (A whip with sharp, pointy things sticking out of it) to bear, and it wrapped around his waist. Kalas couldn't see her face, her hair was obcuring it…_

"_I don't need to do any better than this to defeat **you**," the girl snarled. And multicolored wings erupted from her slender, almost wraithlike figure, and she started to chant… **"I am the Fire, hear my voice! Guardian Spell: Hellfi-**"_

"_**Crazy Rabbit!**" shrieked a feminine voice from behind the girl (Kalas could recognize it. It belonged to Ayme). And the blue-haired girl screamed in pain as the bullets ripped through her, her yellow eyes going so wide Kalas thought they might pop out of her head._

_Wait._

_Time out._

Yellow_ eyes? _Blue_ hair?_

"Astarael?" Kalas gasped, jerking awake so quickly that he nearly fell over. He recovered quickly, his glare daring anyone to laugh. Of course, since everyone passing by could guess easily who he was (keeping something as big as the defeat of a god secret wasn't very easy…) they all looked away and quickly found other things to do.

She hadn't looked the same as she had when they had parted company a year ago. First off, she had looked solid. Well, duh, she did have her body back now, so that made sense. Her hair had also been longer the last time he had seen her, and the last eight inches a medium brown color. But it had definitely been Astarael. He'd recognize her voice anywhere.

"Just a dream," he muttered, kicking the ground. But some nagging little voice in the back of his head refused to believe that. "Well it's not like she'd ever be fighting Ayme and Folon in real life. No one's seen them since Malpercio was defeated. For all I know, they're both dead." And he fervently hoped that they were. Even though they had helped defeat Malpercio, Kalas couldn't forgive them for the part they had played in killing his 'grandfather' and brother, Fee. Having to confront them now, when he essentially owed them one would be… awkward. **(1)**

"Just a dream," Kalas repeated more firmly as he started scanning for Xelha and Mizuti. He was very pissed at both of them at the moment. It was THEIR fault he'd had that strange dream, after all. If only Mizuti had been on time…!

_Not thinking about it, remember? _He reminded himself.

**

* * *

**

9:04 pm. Astarael was 'asleep'.

Translation: she was playing Fire Emblem on her emergency Gameboy Advance SP, the one that really belonged to Azil that she usually hid between the mattress and the boxsprings of her bed. (Yeah, she shouldn't have nicked it, but it had just been sitting in the family room collecting dust for two MONTHS, it was a crime against video gaming systems. It had been there, demanding to be played. Who was she to say no?)

…_stupid frickin' parents… damn midmarkingperiod reports… damn flying things that spit magic that ruin my backpack… damn life in general… _she grumbled as her paladin cut through one of the enemy magic users.

Fire Emblem was one of those games that she could probably play forever. But she didn't really have time to be doing this. She should really be making lists of things that could explain the monsters suddenly developing magical powers. Or a possible list of reasons for her mother NOT to replace her beloved purple backpack with a rolling monstrosity.

_But really, this is more fun, _she thought absently as the enemy decided to throw themselves uselessly at her paladins, which resulted in them being cut to pieces. She could worry about those things tomorrow…

A huge peal of thunder startled her slightly. No, she was definitely _not _going back out tonight. Which meant that she got to enjoy a rare night off without her conscience nagging her.

_Just have to go to bed at midnight, 'cause I made that stupid promise to Selih. Yay, another night ended with nightmares about white wings…_

**

* * *

About half an hour later, Xelha and Mizuti showed up, both looking a little worse for wear. Kalas's annoyance dissolved instantly, replaced by rage. Who had _dared _to attack them! He was going to knock some heads in, that was for sure…**About half an hour later, Xelha and Mizuti showed up, both looking a little worse for wear. Kalas's annoyance dissolved instantly, replaced by rage. Who had to attack them! He was going to knock some heads in, that was for sure… 

"What happened to you to?" he asked immediately, blunt as usual.

"Erm… we sort of got jumped by some toughs. Well, I did, anyway. Normally, that wouldn't be such a big deal, but I kinda… left my deck at the inn…"

"Don't look so angry, Kalas!" Mizuti piped up. "The Great Mizuti took care of them! But that be beside the point. The Great Mizuti be finding a rift between dimensions! We can go visit the Spirit!"

"What?" Kalas spluttered, dumbfounded, flashing back to that unpleasant dream – just a dream, just a dream! – and staring as Mizuti.

"Really?" Xelha asked.

"Really. Truly. Completely and absolutely," Mizuti replied happily.

"Do you think that this has something to do with the strange way the Artifacts **(2)** have been acting lately?" Xelha asked.

"Maybe. Perhaps. Possibly," Mizuti replied "Would you show the Great Mizuti one or the Artifacts?"

Obediently, Xelha took off the Earth Pendant, which she always wore and handed it to the oddly clad sorceress. Mizuti looked at it. The Earth Pendant looked the same as always… except for the faint black hairline cracks that ran through its white surface. Kalas flinched slightly. There were more cracks than he had remembered.

"The other two Artifacts are the same," Xelha said darkly.

"Hmm… this be bad. The Great Mizuti has a theory, though."

"Well, spit it out!" Kalas snapped. Mizuti grated his nerves sometimes…

"Well… since the Guardian's power is what repaired the Artifacts, perhaps if something happened to her…"

"Do you think that Astarael might be in danger?" Xelha asked. "But what could possibly be powerful enough to pose a threat to her?"

"The Great Mizuti do not know, Xelha. However, none of us really know anything about Astarael's homeland," Mizuti pointed out.

They all brooded over that for a moment. Then, Kalas broke the silence.

"We're heading for Alfard," He snapped.

"Huh?" Xelha asked.

"We need to get in tough with Lyude. Then Savyna and Gibari, but they're going to be harder to find. We're going to pay a visit to Astarael, and get to the bottom of this…"

The girl with black wings extended a tendril of power at the wards, only to have a dehibilating burning paintossed at her over the link. _What _had possessed the Guardian to strengthen her wards to killing levels? Did she _know?_

No, it was too early for her to have figured it out. Humans tended to overlook the evil that festered right underneath their noses…

Until it was too late to do anything about it, anyway…

They black-winged girl laughed quietly to herself. Soon, things were going to get interesting…

**

* * *

**

Eh heh heh… My midmarking period report was ALMOST as bad as Astarael's. So, during the week, I am on lockdown, which sucks muchly(No internet access for Phoenixfire1389.) I'll try to keep up with updates.

Anyway… like the name of the chapter? Well, be on the lookout for 'Warnings of…' chapters in the future. Or any chapter in which Astarael dresses in a navy blue shirt and kaki pants… (evil grin)

Also, if I spelled names of people/places in the game wrong... I have never claimed to be anything but an abysmal speller, and these are not the sorts of things that spellcheck can fix. So if you find anything wrong with spelling or gramar, please tell me!

Oh, and Kalas, Xelha, and Mizuti are currently in Komo Mai. I'm not sure if I specified that in previous chapters.

**1**: I will now explain the previous little paragraph, since I know that some of the people reading this story haven't played much Baten Kaitos. **And this is a spoiler if you have not beaten the game.** Ayme, Giacomo and Folon worked for Emperor Geldoblame, and were trying to kill our beloved Kalas for a vast portion of the game, and he was trying to kill them. Ayme and Folon stop after Kalas kills Giacomo (with the help of the Guardian Spirit :-)). Then, near the end of the game, Ayme and Folon use Alfard's End Magnus to help break the barrier around Malpercio's fortress, Cor Hydrae, so our heroes can go in and kill Malpercio (But spare Melodia, urk, she should have died, I hated her so much...) So yeah, they're evil… but sort of not. Kalas still hates them for killing his family.

**2: **The three Artifacts (The Ocean Mirror, the Earth Pendant, and the Sword of Heaven) were key in defeating Malpercio. They all got broken at some point or another, and were repaired by the Guardian Spirit during the final battle.

Now... reviewer responses!

wingsofheart: I will! And I hope you like this chapter too! I haven't had time to finish reading your Baten Kaitos stories (curses her parents and their stupid grades fixation) but that's what I'm going to do next.

Luna-Starr: Nope, the evil girl isn't Melodia. But, with as much as Astarael hates Melodia, I assure you that she will make an appearance. And yeah, Melodia was pretty awful, I hated her so much! That, and I frankly think that she seduced some of the otherevil guys. Namedly, Geldoblame and that guy you have to fight before you go in and defeat the evil Kalas... can't remember his real name right now. Even though they never come out and say it in the game, this is my little theory.

Coatlicue7: You really should get the game as soon as possible. I'm glad you like my story so much, even though you probably shouldn't read it until after youplay the game. just know that this is chock full of spoilers (Hands you an official looking piece of paper that reads 'you have been warned...')


	6. Of Skirmishes, Soda, and Schooldays

Phoenixfire: Bill Gates has just jumped to the top of my yami's 'kill list'.

YamiPhoenixfire: Damn frickin updates that restart the damn frickin computer while we're not here, wiping out two pages of hard work…

Phoenixfire: Oh come on. Most of that was our argument about who was going to write this chapter. And it's MY turn. You wrote the last one.

YamiPhoenixfire: I should've left you to rot in that plothole. Or, I would have, but then you wouldn't let me write the dream sequences, would you?

Phoenixfire: (glares) What do YOU think? Speaking of plotholes, where did that thing come from anyway? I'm usually very careful about leaving those things hanging around…

YamiPhoenixfire: Um… (whistles innocently)

Phoenixfire: …and you put it there for me to fall into, didn't you! ARRG! That's it! Back into the spare closet with you!

YamiPhoenixfire: And exactly HOW do you plan on writing this story without my help?

Phoenixfire: ………………………………………………

YamiPhoenixfire: (evil smile) Exactly.

Phoenixfire: Whatever. Just do the disclaimer.

YamiPhoenixfire: Fine, fine. We don't own Baten Kaitos, Slice, or Mountain Dew. We don't own a beeping alarm clock, either. Ours sounds like a swarm of killer bees. (Glares at Phoenixfire) There, was that good?

Phoenixfire: Very. Especially since you didn't make any –false- claims about Kalas being your love slave. It would be most unfortunate if he had to beat the crap out of you again. It's hard to get your blood out of the carpet.

Chapter 5: Of Skirmishes, Soda, and Schooldays

Astarael registered a faint beeping noise… a noise which was gradually growing louder…

…beep…beep…BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Oh. Alarm clock. Yeah, it was… Tuesday.

She blearily smacked the nightstand. Multiple times. Then, she remembered that her alarm clock was now on the BOTTOM of the nightstand…

"Aw, hell," she moaned, kicking off her nice, warm sheets to silence the noise that tormented her, so she could get back to…

"_Well why don't YOU prepare to die, Kalas!" she had screamed. The tears were running down her face, and her whip cracked inches from his face. She registered brief surprise –_Something is wrong with the order of events here_– and proceeded to attack…_

_Only to have her weapon pulled out of her hands. Kalas sneered at her, his white wings casting a brilliant, painful illumination in the shadowy room._

"_You cannot destroy me, Astarael, and THAT shall be your undoing," he told her, as he reached forward and pulled off one of her wings…_

Astarael shuddered. She was NOT going to forget that dream anytime soon. She blamed it all on Selih. And midmarkingperiod reports.

And Melodia. Because everything was Melodia's fault somehow.

_Wait. That didn't really make much sense. I need my Mountain Dew._

With a put-upon groan, Astarael staggered as quietly as she could manage down the stairs. Really, it didn't make any sense for her to be so tired. She'd actually gone to bed at eleven thirty, and gotten SIX hours of sleep. True, she'd had the horrendous Nightmare to End All Nightmares, but STILL… she shouldn't be this…

…_drained?_

She didn't like that thought. It had implications that she didn't think she could wrap her mind around without her caffeine…

She reached into the green box in the refrigerator, her hand meeting only cardboard walls. Puzzled, she reached further into the box to find… nothing.

Astarael paused. It took a full two minutes for her sleep-fogged mind to come up with the logical explanation.

"AZILINA MARIE SANDERS! YOUR LIFE IS MINE!"

"Out of Mountain Dew at home?" Selih asked. Astarael ignored her best friend, she didn't want to have to deal with the sarcasm, and she was starting to get a caffeine withdrawal headache. She was too busy hitting the large Code Red button. Her soda wasn't coming out. "I do believe that the machine is trying to tell you that it is sold out."

"Yeah, yeah," Astarael replied in a zombie-like monotone. She moved on to one of the three buttons for regular Mountain Dew. Sold out. Button two. Sold out. Button three…

Green letters read 'Vend'. Selih looked disappointed.

"You don't need to be so happy," Astarael said sarcastically as she bent to pick up her bottle of liquid energy. "We both know how I am… without… my…"

Astarael looked at the bottle. The ORANGE bottle.

It wasn't Mountain Dew.

It was Slice.

Selih bit back a grin. After all her years of friendship with the temperamental ex-Guardian Spirit, she knew better than to pick a fight with an uncaffeinated Astarael. Selih thought head was very nice where it was, thank you. She was smart enough to simply double and laugh silently over while Astarael was busy trying to kick the rebellious machine into submission.

First Period. Pre-Calculus. Astarael kept herself occupied by writing down her List of People I Need to Kill. Azil, Melodia, her mother, and all of her teachers came in at the top of the list. She considered putting Kalas on the list, but since she knew she could never bring herself to hurt the blue-haired boy, let alone kill him, she left his name off. Of course, she could probably convince Selih to do it for her…

_And then, as a Guardian, I would have to kill Selih. That would be bad…_

Second Period. English. Her teacher was so lax that she actually got to sleep in this class, and nearly got caught because she woke from a recurrence of her nightmare from that night and promptly fell out of her desk chair. Even though no one laughed (they were too afraid of her) she could tell that they wanted to.

It wasn't too hard to convince the teacher that she needed to go to the nurse, so she gathered up her belongings and left the classroom.

_Hmm… I don't cut class. This is my first time. Where to…_

'Gotcha bitch!" snarled a vaguely familiar voice as she instinctively dodged a grabbing pair of hands and whirled, bringing her makeshift backpack (amazing what duct tape can fix…) down like a mace, catching her opponent off-guard and hurling him into a row of lockers.

"Look, whoever you are, I am tired, caffeineless, and in a VERY bad mood. You'd better have a damn good reason for jumping me and cursing me out, because otherwise I am going to enjoy breaking a few more bones."

"You don't remember me?" he asked, sounding even angrier.

"Hmm." Baggy jeans, black t-shirt, gangster-ish metal necklaces, dark brown hair poking out from under a blue bandanna, torn denim vest that was at least three sizes too big, dirty white sneakers, glazed blue eyes, expression that was a mix of angry and stoned… "Wait. You're the stoner jerk who tried to harass me on the bus yesterday. You were actually stupid enough to come back for round two." She sneered at him and tossed her backpack away, cracking her knuckles. "Bring it."

He charged at her like a wild bull, and she leapt nimbly out of the way, delivering a kick to his backside that sent him sprawling. He struggled to his feet and lunged again. This time, her lack of sleep had apparently caught up with her, because she wasn't able to dodge completely. A grazing blow to her skull sent her skidding into the far wall to slam painfully into unyielding cinderblock. (or whatever the heck they make the school walls out of.) The impact almost made her wings flare out defensively, but she reigned them in by sheer force of will.

Luckily for Astarael, the first teacher chose to investigate as she was struggling to her feet, wiping the blood off her forehead.

"Crying works every time. None of the male teachers know how to deal with a crying teenager. It's even better when you bring up… womanly problems. They get SO red…"

"And that guy… I think his name was Mark… got three weeks of detention for harassing me,' Astarael added with a wicked grin, downing a huge gulp of Slice. She was in such a good mood that she didn't even care that she hated orange soda.

Selih joined her in laughter as they split the combined substance of their lunches and gossiped over nothing. Now, if she could just make it through the rest of the day without falling asleep again, everything would be perfect…

Astarael leaned heavily against the nearest tree. She hadn't had an easy time against the mutant red-tailed hawk. Not only had it been larger, faster, and smarter than the crow, it had been using _light _magic. And she was really lousy with her dark magic spell.

Worse, she had been injured. Every time some of her blood got on a monster, it seemed to get even stronger for some perverse reason, and she refused to believe that simply being injured could create that big of a difference. _Yet another thing that makes me different, _she thought bitterly, as she always did whenever her blood got on one of the monsters.

With a disgusted sigh, she started using the bandages that she always kept in her purse for emergencies to tie up the gash on her left arm, and trying to stay awake despite the enormous drain on her magical resources that the fight had caused. She had become quite an old hand at bandaging wounds in the last six months. _Times like this make me wish that we had Sacred Wines in our dimension._ Now… did she have enough magic left to get the blood out of her blouse and off her jeans?

_Yes, _she decided, looking forlornly at her backpack, thinking dark thoughts about dragging it home and patching up even more of it with duct tape.

Her body was surrounded briefly by a glow as she magically removed all the blood from her clothing.

_Now, get up… get backpack… start dragging and think… of a way… to explain… the… tear…_

…_aw hell… that took… more out of me… than I… expected…_

_She was back in the Imperial Palace, with Xelha._

"_You know, your eyes have really become a lot more yellow since we bonded," Xelha commented._

"_Really?" Astarael asked. Being a spirit meant that no mirror would show her a reflection._

"_Yes. In fact, they're almost exactly the same shade as mine," the witch commented with a grin. "So, I guess that you'll have something to remember me by when you go back to your own world."_

"_Yes…" Astarael replied. She _would _be going back to her world, someday. She knew she should be happy, but… she really didn't want to leave. She didn't want to say good-bye to Xelha… or Mizuti… or Gibari, Lyude, and Savyna, even though they couldn't see or talk to her. And, most of all, she would miss… Kalas._

_Kalas. Even though he had used and betrayed her… she should hate him. She knew that if anyone else had done what Kalas had done to her, that she would hate them. But she…_

Oh hell, this is going to be hard…

"_Xelha. You know that I love Kalas, don't you?" Astarael asked._

_Xelha blinked and stared at the translucent girl floating in the air next to her._

"_W-what?" the young queen stuttered, looking utterly baffled._

"_I do. And I have for some time. Which is why I want… no, I _need _to tell you this. While it's just the two of us."_

"_And what is that?" Xelha asked, her voice taking on an edge of suspicion._

"_I…" _Gods, didn't I promise myself that I wasn't going to form any attachments? What the hell happened to that good idea, hmm? _"I want you… and Kalas… to be happy."_

"_What are you saying, Astarael?"_

"_I'm saying that I want you two to be together. I… even if I told Kalas how I felt, it would never work out between us. I'm only a Spirit in this world. I have a life to get back to. Eventually, I'm going to have to leave. So I am never going to tell him how I feel. But you… you're my friend, Xelha. I didn't want a secret this big between us."_

"_Astarael…"_

"_Furthermore," the Guardian said with a hint of a grin on her tear-stained face, "when I was a little girl I promised myself that I would never let boys get in the way of my friendships. I like to keep my promises."_

_There. That hadn't been so hard. It hadn't hurt as much as Kalas telling her to go away had, but it sure came close…_

"_Xelha!" Mizuti exclaimed, skittering down the hall._

"_Did you find the way to where Kalas is/" Xelha asked._

"_Not yet. But we did find Emperor Geldoblame's room. It be… Different. Odd. Strange. Weird… You and the Spirit should definitely come and take a look."_

"_Oookay… come on, Astarael!" Xelha replied brightly. The only hint of their serious conversation that showed was the vaguely relieved quality of Xelha's smile._

"Gah!" Astarael gasped, her eyes flying open.

The sky was tinged red. The sun was setting. She had been lying in the forest about a mile from her house for three hours. Silently, Astarael cursed the luck that always seemed to make monsters appear at the worst possible times.

_My mom is going to kill me… _Astarael thought.

A/n: Sorry for the lateness of this chapter. And, for those of you who found the room… Geldoblame's bedroom definitely fits his appearance. It's bizarre…

No reviewer responses for this chapter because I have to go to school in about fifteen minutes, and I haven't eaten yet.


	7. To Cut

YamiPhoenixfire: Can I write the chapter now? Please?

Phoenixfire: No. You had far too much input in the last one.

YamiPhoenixfire: But you get to write all that sickening fluffy stuff! C'mon! Please?

Phoenixfire: Well…

YamiPhoenixfire: You'll love it. I promise.

Phoenixfire: Fine. You win.

YamiPhoenixfire: Yaaaay! Do the disclaimer so I can get started!

Phoenixfire: Okay. We don't own Mountain Dew. We don't own Baten Kaitos. You know the drill.

YamiPhoenixfire: Feh. My disclaimer was better… (Phoenixfire glares at her) On second thought, on with the story!

* * *

Chapter 6: To Cut

_Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud…_

Running home… why did she feel so anxious?

"_Yeah, yeah…. You have fun going home… I'm going to join color guard!"_

"_Bah! You only want to join so you can go on the Disney World trip! I refuse to be sucked into the cult!"_

"_Hah…. Whatever. See you tomorrow, Astarael!"_

"_Bye, Selih!"_

Now, why had she remembered that?

_Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud…_

She needed to figure out how to explain where three hours of her life had disappeared to…

_Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud…_

After all, what could have happened to Selih? The girl was more than capable of taking care of herself, especially when armed with one of those flags…

_Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud…_

THUNK!

Astarael stopped dead in her tracks as a large piece of glass blossomed from her chest. She caught a glimpse of a black outfit and a flash of magenta hair before her vision went black.

* * *

Kalas and Xelha were sleeping peacefully in an inn in Mintaka, resting up for their interview with Lyude the next morning, which is why they missed the glow that infused Kalas's Magnus deck. When the soft, multicolored light died, there were now seven new cards in the deck that was lying face up next to Kalas's sword, dagger, and Winglet on the bedside table. Since the cards were still stacked in one neat pile (Xelha had organized them right before they had gone to bed), only one card was visible. It had a sky-blue background streaked with red, and what appeared to be a broken silver pendant in the shape of a bird with outstretched wings, shorn cleanly in half. There were also four words written on the card in reddish brown, slightly blotchy letters.

_Spirit Card: Fallen Phoenix

* * *

_

"…Christ, that girl has the devil's luck! She's like a demon!"

One of the neighbors. What the heck was going on?

"Shut the hell up about my sister! Don't say things like that about her!"

"Rana! Don't use that sort of language!"

"But Moooom! People aren't allowed to say things like that about Astra!"

Huh? They were talking about her? Why? The last thing she remembered was…

"Ayme!" she snarled, sitting bolt upright. "Gonna _kill _her…!"

"Miss, don't strain yourself!" urged one of the neighbors who she thought was a doctor. "You're lucky to be alive. That necklace you were wearing slowed the projectile down enough that it barely nicked your sternum. If it hadn't been there, you'd be dead right now." He held up the silver phoenix pendant that Seilh had given her on her twelfth birthday, the one that she almost always wore. A piece of glass twelve inches long was sticking out of it. _Huh? Why glass? Ayme fights with guns, why didn't she just shoot me? Unless… she was trying to prove a point…_

And didn't the late busses come home around six?

"Oh, hell…" Astarael hissed, forcing herself to her feet. She wobbled for a few moments, then regained her balance and forcibly parted the small crowd of concerned neighbors as she dashed for her house.

"Astarael Victoria Sanders! Just where in God's name do you think you're going!"

"I need to make a phone call!" Astarael shouted over her shoulder at her bewildered mother.

The mudroom door was locked. With a scream of frustration, she fished around in her purse for her key, cutting herself on her whip. When she finally found the key, she jammed it into the door and turned it so hard that it snapped. But that didn't really matter that much, because the door was open. She threw her whole body weight into the act of opening the door, and it slammed into the wall, leaving a sizeable dent.

"Astra?" Rana asked hesitantly. Astarael chose to ignore her youngest sister as she sprinted into the kitchen and seized the phone and began to dial a phone number like it was her last hope for salvation.

"Astra? W-what's wrong?" Rana asked as Astarael listened to the phone ring and tapped her foot impatiently while waiting for someone to pick up. "Astra? Y-you're not going to… go away again, are you?"

Astarael's worried, angry glare softened for a moment. "No, Rana. If they couldn't get rid of me with an SUV, what makes you think that a whimpy piece of glass would work?"

"Heh, heh…. You're probably right…"

"Hello, Adnama residence, Joel speaking." The voice on the other end didn't sound strained or unhappy, which was a good sign.

"Mr. Adnama? It's Astra. Is Selih home yet?"

"Why no, Astra, she isn't. She should be any minute. I'll have her call you… what's wrong? You sound… very worried."

"Nothing's wrong with me!" she said too quickly.

"NOTHING'S WRONG WITH YOU?" Rana exploded. "Someone just tried to impale you with a piece of glass, _and you think there's nothing WRONG with that!"_

"What's this about a piece of glass and impaling people?" Mr. Adnama asked suspiciously.

"Just have her call me back as soon as she gets home, okay?"

"Well… I can give you her cell phone number. It's…" Astarael wrote down the number on a piece of scrap paper and thanked Mr. Adnama quickly before hanging up, and dialing the new number.

_Ring…_

'Honestly, Astra, what are you doing that you take being frickin' STABBED by a piece of GLASS so lightly!" Rana pressed.

_Ring…_

"So? What is it? Are you doing drugs? Are you drinking?"

_Ring…_

"No and no, Rana," Astarael almost snapped.

_Ring…_

"Are you pregnant?"

"Hell no!"

_Ring…_

"Then, are you the person that's been killing all the mutated animals? The one the police are looking for?"

_We were unable to place your call. If you would like Sprint to leave a message, press 6 now. An 85 cent usage fee will apply._

"Damnit!" Astarael shouted, slamming down the phone. Several somethings cracked.

"You are, aren't you?" Rana whispered.

Astarael, for lack of the physical or emotional energy required to think up a convincing lie, simply said "Yes. Don't tell Mom, or she'll kill me."

"I…"

"Promise me."

"I… I promise…" Rana muttered as the other members of the family came in to grill Astarael.

* * *

One hour later, the phone rang. Astarael, for the first time in her life, actually beat Azil to the phone. "Hello, Sanders residence," She said automatically. "Astra talking," she added as an afterthought.

"Astra? It's Mrs. Adnama," said a shaky female voice that sounded like crying had occurred. _Shit, shit, shit! Not good at all! _"This isn't going to be easy for you to hear… but there's been an accident with the late bus. Selih is…"

* * *

_These stupid brown ends… reminders of who I used to be… I'm getting rid of them tonight…_

The sound of steel cutting through hair was the only sound that could be heard.

_I should never have left her alone…._

Blue and brown strands of hair littered the white tile of the bathroom floor.

_This is MY fault…_

"Astra! We're heading for the hospital now!"

_Astra Sanders, the weak, naïve idiot…_

"Astra!" Rana shouted, pounding on the door.

_Is dead. Guardian Spirit Astarael is all that remains…_

"Ast-Astra!" Rana gasped as her sister opened the door.

"What?" Astarael snapped, deliberately flicking her now chin-length, uneven, solidly blue hair and shoving her equally uneven bangs out of her eyes. "We're going to be late, aren't we? Get a move on!"

The black-winged girl smiled as she looked at her two newest creations. The test had been a success. This time, she would be able to finish off the meddlesome Guardian for good…

* * *

(A/n: He hee hee… does anyone remember Kalas's nightmare in chapter 4? Does Astarael's new look sound familiar?)

Phoenixfire: It's too short.

YamiPhoenixfire: So?

Phoenixfire: We made them wait while you lazed about…

YamiPhoenixfire: It's your fault for introducing me to Naruto scanlations!

Phoenixfire: Anyway… yes, well… Reviewer Responses!

YamiPhoenixfire: Heh, dodging the question…

Phoenixfire: Shut up, you….

**Reviews for chapter five:**

LighteningRae: Glad you're getting the game soon! Hurry up and beat it so I won't feel bad for the massive amount of spoilers in this story:)

Luna-Starr: Don't give up on AstaraelxKalas… I have this annoying habit of pulling a happy ending out of my hat somehow…

wingsofheart: Wow… if Astarael's life is anything like yours, you have my pity. (gives a cookie)

**Reviews for chapter six:**

xwoman2: Eh? I always assumed that room belonged to Geldoblame. Didn't they show Xelha stealing the pendant from that room? Although… Melodia's room… that would make sense… (YamiPhoenixfire: And Kalas's diary in that room supports my theory of how Melodia ran around seducing everyone! (Phoenixfire locks her dark side in the spare closet again.))

Luna-Starr: Heh… I'll try to update sooner next time. Certain EVIL older brothers of CERTAIN friends told me about a website where I could find manga scanlations… and most of my writing time vanished into a black hole. Yeah… (looks guilty)

Vanya the Elven Maiden of the Valar: I don't know… there was plenty of in-game evidence for KalasxXelha… but who says they have to stay together? This is angst for a reason… and yes, Kalas and company are definitely coming to the 'real world'… eventually.

Memumbo; Yes… school DOES suck. I hate it. (YamiPhoenixfire: As if they couldn't figure that out by themselves!)(Phoenixfire: Being in the closet means that you have to be quiet!(kicks closet door)) I'll give you a school quote that I like… two, actually…

"School prepares you for the real world, which also sucks." – Happy Bunny

"If knowledge is power, and power is corruption, doesn't that make school evil?" – Someone on GameFaqs

Crazygirl306: Oooh! New reader! I hope you continue to like this story.

A/n: God, there were so many errors in the last chapter! I am never posting a chapter so shortly before I leave for someplace ever again! When (if) I go back and edit this story, I'm fixing that chapter first! ARRRRRRRRRRRRG!

Also, I cannot spell. If you see a game term spelled incorrectly or a typo, tell me!


	8. To Wait

Phoenixfire: Interlude chapter. You need to read it anyway. Plot will pick up in the next chapter.

YamiPhoenixfire: Mainly because I'll be writing it.

Phoenixfire: Yeah, yeah. There were things I wanted to happen in this chapter… but it would've been too long. (Dodges thrown objects) Hey, it's a really quick update! Be grateful!

Let's see... in this chapter we don't own Baten Kaitos or Evanescence. If you can guess the name of the Evanescence song, and you are one of the first three to do so, I'll give you a small part in an upcoming chapter.

* * *

Chapter 7: To wait

"…news today…"

Trees and houses rolled by in the pale twilight. It was really one of the prettiest times of day…

"…unknown man, approximately 5'10", with orange and blue hair…"

…not that she cared right now…

"…school bus. Several of the passengers were killed, several were critically injured…"

…she felt too empty to care…

"…If you see this man…"

…and she finally understood why Kalas had gone to the lengths he had for revenge…

"…please contact the hotline at…"

…When she found Ayme and Folon, she was going to kill them.

"…we thank you for your cooperation…"

* * *

Kalas awoke with a shuddering start and blinked several times, trying to shake his dream out of his mind. The details were already fading away, but what he could remember was disturbing enough…

"_For your sins, I pass judgment upon thee…" Astarael snarled as she tore off one of her opponent's black wings…_

Kalas shuddered again. That was easily the most disturbing dream he'd ever had, and he wanted to forget it as quickly as possible. He leaned over and shook Xelha awake.

"Mmm?" she groaned.

"We're going to the palace today," he reminded her.

"Huh? Oh, right. I bet Lyude'll be happy for an excuse to take a vacation from politics for a while. Where do you think Gibari and Savyna will be?"

"Oh, Gibari will probably be somewhere by the Ocean. Savyna, though… While we're in Alfard, we should probably stop in Azha and look for her there. Other than that, I'm out of ideas."

"I don't have any either," Xelha replied sadly. Savyna had dropped off the face of the earth after the defeat of Malpercio. Some people even whispered (while looking over their shoulders as if she would pop up and tear out their throats) that Lady Death had finally gone the way of her victims. If Kalas was around, this was the point where he bashed their heads in.

"Okay, so you go wake up Mizuti and I'll… what the hell! What in the name of the long-dead gods is this?" Kalas gasped.

"What's wrong?" Xelha asked, coming over to see. Numbly, Kalas held up the seven, not six but _seven_ Spirit Magnus. "Aaah…"

"That's exactly what _I _was thinking. I mean, these disappeared when Astarael did. Why are they back now? And what's with this new one?" he mused aloud, holding up the card that read 'Fallen Phoenix' to the light. "It almost looks like it's written in… blood…"

Kalas and Xelha looked at each other with identical expressions of horror before snatching up their decks and bolting as one for Mizuti's room. Neither of them needed to say that Astarael was in danger. That much was obvious.

Kalas's grip on the card tightened, and he focused his concentration on the card. As always, the incantation floated into his head…

(**_"I am vengeance, hear my voice! Sword Style: Fallen Phoenix!'_**)

…and crimson flame and turquoise wind flickered briefly across his vision. So the spell was… Wind and Fire? But that was impossible! Nothing had more than one element!

_Then again, how much do we really know about Astarael's home? _He reminded himself. Astarael's power was literally something not of this world. He turned the card over in his hand as Xelha woke Mizuti. _Vengeance, hmm? Fits someone like _me _perfectly…_

But for Astarael, sweet, naïve, slightly dorky at times _Astarael_ to create something like this…

"Whatever's going on, we're running out of time," Kalas muttered.

* * *

"She's in critical condition," the doctor said for the second time. "I'm really sorry, but she can't have any visitors who aren't relatives."

Astarael considered bashing his skull in. They WERE in a hospital after all. The idiot would live. Probably.

But her parents were RIGHT THERE, standing behind her, and Rana was holding her hand and giving her The Look. Punching the doctor at the moment was not a good idea. _It's not a good idea at all! _wailed her conscience, an echo of the old Astarael, the one that was dead.

"Is… is Selih going to be alright?" Astarael asked, annoyed at the waver in her voice.

"…look, I'm not supposed to give out information like this to people who aren't family members…" he hesitated, looking straight at Astarael, with something more than nervousness in his eyes. It was almost as if he subconsciously realized how close he'd just come to a beating… "…but she's in really bad shape. We're trying our best… but we don't think she's going to last the night."

_Don't think… what?_

It wasn't happening. She'd heard wrong.It couldn't be. Alys and Kala, the only two other people she could really talk to, the only other two friends she had that she knew would keep her secrets… Kala was in Washington, and Alys was in Arizona. Miles and miles away at college. If… if Selih died…

_I will not allow that to happen! _she wailed mentally. Dozens of useful Magnus popped into her brain… or they would be useful if she lived in a world called Baten Kaitos. Sadly, she lived on Earth, where the only magic she _did_ know of was useful solelyfor the purposeblowing things up…

_Wait. _There was one thing that _might_ work. It was a long shot. It was risky. And… she was definitely going to do it.

"Does Selih's room have a window?" Astarael asked.

"Yes," the doctor replied automatically. "But why are you asking?"

"Well, I was curious," she replied with a noncommittal shrug of her shoulders. Her parents looked at her like she was crazy, and Rana gave her the 'we HAVE to talk about this' glare. She held back a smile. Finally, her powers were going to do something that was visibly useful….

* * *

"Okay," Kalas sighed. "We're going to split up. Mizuti, I want you to go on ahead to Azha."

"Okay. You'll see, the Great Mizuti will find Savyna without fail!" Mizuti happily bounded down the pathway heading for Azha, while Kalas and Xelha prepared to enter the palace.

"Do you think this is going to work?" Xelha whispered.

"If it doesn't, we're just going to have to leave without Lyude. You heard what Mizuti said this morning…"

"_This spell, it be corrupted," Mizuti had said, fingering the Fallen Phoenix Magnus._

"_What do you mean, 'corrupted?'" Kalas had asked._

"_Well… we already know that the Guardian's magic has something to do with emotions, because the strength of your bond with her determined the strength of the Spirit Magnus. Well… whatever she's feeling now be really negative, and it be corrupting the spell. Compare it to the other six Magnus. Doesn't it feel…"_

"_Angrier. Darker," Kalas finished for her. When compared to the other six, Fallen Phoenix felt like it would rip apart anything, especially if the wrong person used it…_

"I don't want Astarael ending up like me," Kalas said, sighing. "She deserves better than that."

"Kalas… Have some faith in Astarael. After all," Xelha continued with a mischievous glint in her eye, "Astarael's a lot smarter than you…"

"Hey!"

* * *

_(Playground school bell rings…_

_Again…_

_Rainclouds come to play…_

_Again…_

_Has no one told you she's not breathing?_

_Hello?_

_I am your mind._

_Giving you someone to talk to…_

_Hello.)_

"Maybe Evanescence wasn't the best choice of music right now…" Astarael muttered, but she made no move to turn off the boom box. She really liked this song.

_(If I smile and don't believe_

_Soon I know I'll wake_

_From this dream._

_Don't try to fix me I'm not broken…_

_Hello._

_I am the lie_

_Living for you so you can hide_

_Don't cry…)_

The Phone rang. Once. Twice…

"Astra! It's Rob!" Azil shouted, her voice coming from somewhere in the vicinity of the front staircase.

"Tell him I died or something!" she shouted. Rob was the LAST person she wanted to talk to right now.

"No way! You tell him so yourself!"

Astarael turned off the boom box, inwardly fuming, and stomped gracelessly down the steps to snatch the phone from her sister. Oh, for something, anything to beat up… "Hello?"

"Hey, Astra!" Rob exclaimed, oozing cheeriness that she just didn't have the patience to deal with right now. "So… Battle of the Bands is this Friday. You wanna come with me?"

"No."

"But why not?" he whined.

"Listen up, and listen good. I. Do. Not. Like. You. In fact, I'm starting to hate you. You call at the most inconvenient times. I thought we could be friends last year, but I see quite clearly that you want more than that, or nothing at all, so you're going to be stuck with nothing. I… can't give you what you want."

"But why not?"

"I don't have to tell you that. If you're going to bother me, please do it some time when my best friend is _not _in the hospital hurt badly enough to die." She punched the 'off' button before Rob had a chance to respond, and managed to somehow check her impulse to throw the phone across the front hall like a two-year-old having a hissy fit.

"You know, he really does like you, Astra," Azil said gently. The tone put Astarael's teeth on edge… _How DARE my little sister patronize me!_

And yet, at the same time, it was all eerily familiar… as if she'd heard this conversation before…

"He's not a knockout, but he's decent looking, and he doesn't care about your past…"

"All he wants is to get into my pants," Astarael said bluntly. And, suddenly, her eyes widened. _All he wants…_

_Oh, I AM going to kill him! I'll tear him to shreds! I'll…_

_Later. It's… 9:14 PM. Mom and Dad go to bed around eleven. I have to save Selih._

…_besides, I can always beat the crap out of Rob at school tomorrow. Getting suspended wouldn't be the end of the world._

"Actually, much as it galls me to say this, thank you, Azil. You've been a tremendous help."

Azil smiled a small, cold, familiar little smile that Astarael couldn't remember seeing on her sister's face before. _Who is she reminding me of? _"Anytime, sister dear. Anytime."

"_Anytime, dear Kalas, anytime…"_

_Why the hell am I thinking about Melodia? No, why the hell is Azil ACTING like Melodia?_

…_No. It can't be. Azil hates anything that has to do with magic. She barely tolerates going to CHURCH. She can't… she WOULDN'T…_

_Shit. I'm going to have to look into this. I don't WANT to look into this. Because…_

…_because if I have to kill Azil, it will make my death a waste of time. Shit!_

_Innocent until proven guilty. I'm going to heal Selih first. Then… then we can use Selih's ability to see people's wings to check Azil, and prove that I'm just being paranoid._

She checked her wristwatch again. 9:17.

_Shit._

She was in for a looooooooong night.

11:45 PM. All the lights were off. It was finally showtime.

With a huge grin, she rolled out of bed and changed into street clothes (A dark blue pair of jeans to match her dark blue denim vest, a white tank top, a beat up pair of sneakers without socks, and the necklace Selih had given her, held together by scotch tape.) She fished her whip out of her purse and pulled on a black hat, but didn't bother with the mask. She just didn't feel like it. And then, as she was opening the window where the screen was missing…

"What are you doing?"

YamiPhoenixfire: Okay, Reviewer responses!

Seducer of Darkness: (looks at name) Hmm, have I brought someone over to my way of thinking? (Evil grin)(Phoenixfire buries her head in a pillow) Yeah, I didn't notice it was Melodia's voice until, like, the last Magnus, and it was just one of those 'duh' moments. (Stares) Eh, you'll sic Melodia on us if we don't continue? Arrg, a fate worse than death! We shall be sure to continue writing!

Vanya the Elven Maiden of the Valar: No, as you can see, I'm not going to kill off Selih. I can't. (Phoenixfire: And I can't either…) Selih's character was based off of a friend in my real life… a friend who is also reading this story. Actually, I had Selih get injured for several reasons… well, you'll see. My idiot good half will probably lock me in that damn closet if I tell you any more…

YamiPhoenixfire: Well, that's it. Be on the lookout for the next chapter, To Bleed, written by yours truly, in which Astarael will heal Selih, and… Kalas and Xelha will FINALLY meet up with Lyude, and Lady Death will make her appearance.

Flames are accepted because we simply rise from our own ashes when set on fire. So by all means, click the purple button and tell us how wonderful we are.

Phoenixfire: Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaami!

YamiPhoenixfire: What?

Phoenixfire: You're not supposed to say things like that!

YamiPhoenixfire: Why not?

Phoenixfire: Because it makes us sound all rude and arrogant!

YamiPhoenixfire: But I AM arrogant.

Phoenixfire: Well, I'm not. So stop making me look bad.

YamiPhoenixfire: (Notices Phoenixfire's position in the room) Okay…

Phoenixfire: (suspicious) Really?

YamiPhoenixfire: Yes… (Shoves Phoenixfire into the closet) …AFTER I DO THIS! MWAHAHAHA!

…

…

…

Erm, Maybe I should finish that next chapter before she finds a way out of there… yeah…


	9. To Bleed

Azil: You do realize that the moment she gets out of there she's going to try to kill you.

YamiPhoenixfire: (snorts) I'm her dark half. If I die, so does she.

Azil: Lovely. Do you think that she's going to be coherent enough to think of that when she gets out of there?

YamiPhoenixfire: …Is there such a thing as a 'Ward Good' spell?

Azil: Doubtful.

YamiPhoenixfire: Damn…

Azil: Shall I do the disclaimer? (YamiPhoenixfire chooses to ignore her and types at breakneck pace) I shall take your silence as consent. Very well… My sister and her crazy dark half don't own Baten Kaitos… (scans page) Wow, that's it for this chapter! I'm impressed. The next thing you know, they might start thinking up their own ideas…

YamiPhoenixfire: I don't have to put up with this… (Azil is pelted with books and flees the room)

Chapter 8: To Bleed

"Well?" Rana asked angrily. "Are you going to talk to me or not?"

"…I'm going to save Selih. Do you have a problem with that?" Astarael hissed.

"You… I'm sorry. Can you, really?"

"Won't know until I try, will I? Go back to bed, Rana. Trust me, I'll be fine."

"Okay… wait, if you're just visiting the hospital, then why do you need _that_?" Rana asked, pointing at Briar Rose.

"Preparedness, my dear sister. I don't want to meet the woman who tried to kill me earlier today without a weapon now, do I?"

"Oh!" Rana exclaimed, smacking her forehead. "Wow, now I feel stupid. Just… be careful, okay?"

"Not so loud! You want to wake up Azil and our parents?" Astarael hissed, and Rana blushed in embarrassment. Rana didn't need to know about the silencing wards on the bedroom.

"Sorry."

"That's okay. Now go back to bed." Rana started to leave, but turned back on a whim.

No one was there, and the window was wide open. _Did she jump? _A Rana thought, stifling a shriek of surprise as she rushed to the window, just in time to catch a glimpse of multicolor wings and blue hair fading off into the distance.

"Maybe if I go to sleep, I'll wake up and realize that this was all just a bad dream," she muttered, running a hand through her shoulder-length brown hair and heading for her own room.

* * *

"Alfard's bureaucrats are just as stuffy as ever," Kalas muttered. The only reason that Xelha had been able to get an audience with Lyude was because she was the former Ice Queen of Wazn. Kalas, having no rank, had to wait outside. Or at least, that was the given reason. He knew that they didn't trust him. He just hoped Xelha saved her biting lecture until AFTER she managed to see Lyude…

Gods, he hated waiting more than anything else…

"Kalas? Is that you, Kalas?"

He whirled in surprise. "Melodia? What in the world are you doing here? I thought you were in Mira!"

A sad smile crossed the blue-haired woman's face, and her red eyes looked oddly moist. "My uncle came here for an audience with Emperor Lyude. Apparently, I am not to be trusted around the Emperor, and so must wait here outside. Same with you?"

"Pretty much," Kalas replied bitterly. "I guess that this is what we get for trying to destroy the world, huh?" The joke, weak though it was, still managed to get a small smile out of the girl. "By the way… why's Duke Calbren here, anyway?"

"…there's odd things going on at the Shrine of Spirits. We think that the fabric between dimensions is starting to weaken."

"Mizuti said something about that, too. Is it dangerous or something?"

"Well, in and of itself, no. The danger comes from what might come through it."

"Mizuti thinks that it leads to Astarael's world."

"Really? Hmm…"

"Why so glum?"

"You know Astarael and I weren't on the best of terms…."

"Yeah," Kalas snorted. Heh, it had been more like mortal enemies, and he'd never quite been sure why. Well, aside from the whole fact that Melodia had wiped out some of Astarael's memories… yeah, he could see why Astarael would be pissed at Melodia. But why did Melodia hate Astarael? Girls didn't make any sense…

"Well, when I got close to the rift… Kalas, if felt a little like Malpercio's power was bleeding through."

"WHAT? That's impossible. Malpercio's dead!"

"That's what I thought too, but I know what I sensed. And I think I know more about the power of Malpercio than anyone else, considering that the End Magnus and Malpercio are the only reason I'm still alive…"

* * *

It had taken Astarael about an hour and a half to find Selih's room, even though she'd memorized the building's layout and had already had a general idea of where to look. When she finally forced the window open, she was Not Happy. What she found inside the room made her feel even angrier.

Her best friend was hooked to what she thought was some sort of life-supporting machine, an imposing thing that bristled wires and tubes and monitors and dozens of other things. An angry growl sounded in the back of her throat. Ayme. Folon.

She was going to _kill _them…

"Don't have a lot of time," she muttered, finding a hand in the mess. Quickly, she brought up Briar Rose and sliced open her own palm, sliced open Selih's palm, and pressed the two injuries together.

Yes, it was unsanitary and gross, but she'd seen proof on several occasions that her blood had some sort of a strengthening and regenerative power. Maybe, maybe, that power could help her friend.

"One thousand six, one thousand seven, one thousand eight, one thousand nine, one thousand ten," she muttered and let go. The injury closed up almost immediately and left a shiny pink scar. _Hopefully, people will be too grateful to ask too many questions…_

Astarael jerked in surprise as she heard footsteps coming her way. With a muffled curse, she threw herself out the window and flew off into the night.

* * *

"Having fun being Emperor, Lyude?" Xelha asked with a smirk as she sat down, sipping the glass of wine that the servant had poured.

"_Fun?_" Lyude yelped, collapsing into the chair opposite of her. "Gods, Xelha, you were the Queen of Wazn… you could have warned me about how much of a pain it is to run a country… even my siblings usually call me 'milord' or 'Your Grace'when I see them! I think I'm going to go insane! And… wait, were you being sarcastic earlier?"

"…maybe…" Xelha replied with a somewhat impish grin.

"Kalas is rubbing off on you."

"A lot of people have been telling me that lately," Xelha said with a chuckle.

"So… I'm going to assume that you didn't come here just to relieve me of the tedium. Why did you come to Alfard, Xelha?" Lyude asked.

"Straight to the point, eh? Very well. I came because some very strange things have been happening."

"Yes, they have. Did you know that there's an active dimensional rift open in the Shrine of Spirits?"

"Mizuti told us, yes... although she forgot to say where. The Shrine of Spirits, eh? That happens to tie in with the reason I came here…" Xelha took off the Earth Pendant and laid it on the table between them. Lyude gasped. "When did this start to happen?"

"About six months ago. At first, I thought I was imagining it, but about three weeks ago, the cracks became too big to ignore. Mizuti believes this is happening because… something's wrong with Astarael. The other two Artifacts are the same."

Lyude buried his head in his hands. Anything that could hurt Astarael enough to cause this was definitely bad. "Why is this starting to feel like Malpercio all over again?"

"There's more."

"More?"

"Yes. The Spirit Magnus have reappeared in Kalas's deck, with one slight change…"

"And what would that be?"

"Now there's seven of them instead of six."

Lyude blinked. The Spirit Magnus, back… that should be impossible. "Are you asking me to come on another quest with you?"

Xelha bit her lip. "Well… if you think you're too busy… I don't have any people to watch over anymore since Wazn kinda… melted, but I would understand if you felt you needed to remain here…"

"No, no, it's quite alright," Lyude said in a slightly panicky voice. "Just let me get my sonic rifle, and I'll be right there…"

* * *

Mizuti had expected finding Savyna would be a hassle. In fact, she hadn't expected the woman to be in Azha at all, really, despite her boasts to Kalas earlier. So she was quite surprised when she saw a familiar purple ponytail on the streets…

"Savyna!" Mizuti cried out. The woman turned, battle claws drawn, before she relaxed upon recognizing Mizuti. She sheathed them with a look of relief on her face.

"Great Mizuti. It's been a while. What are you doing all the way out here? I doubt your adventures would bring you to a place like this…"

"Ah, that is where Savyna be wrong," Mizuti said. "The Great Mizuti be on a quest, and we be needing your help again."

"We? Who is 'we'?" Savyna asked.

"Kalas. Xelha. Lyude. Gibari, if the Great Mizuti and the others can find him."

"Bringing the old gang back together, huh?" Savyna mused, her interest clearly perked. "Must be big if you're trying to get us back together again. So, Great Mizuti, why don't you take me to the others and brief me on the details as we walk, hmm?"

"Splendid! Wonderful! Excellent!" Mizuti exclaimed. _Phew, I managed to distract her before she could ask me what I was doing in Azha…_ "The Great Mizuti will be more than happy to explain…."

* * *

YamiPhoenixfire: Woot! I finished! That bit with Melodia was spur of the moment genius on my part. Seriously, there's no way in REAL LIFE that everyone would just forgive Kalas and Melodia for what they did. People just aren't that nice. I'm thinking of having Melodia come along with everyone to Astarael's world. Oooh, upcoming havoc with relationships ahead… (evil laughter)

In the next chapter: Astarael deals with the aftermath of the previous day, and the Great Hunt For Gibari begins. And now… reviewer res…

Phoenixfire: (clears throat)

YamiPhoenixfire: (screams like a little girl and whirls around in the desk chair) YOU! How did you get out!

Phoenixfire: I opened the door. Duh.

YamiPhoenixfire: But how's that possible! I locked it!

Phoenixfire: I picked the lock.

YamiPhoenixfire: But every time I try that, burning pain threatens to wipe me off the face of the planet!

Phoenixfire: Well, that might be because I put ward evil spells on the doorknob.

YamiPhoenixfire: …you're even worse than me when you're in a bad mood. So, what's my punishment?

Phoenixfire: Guess. (shoves YamiPhoenixfire into the closet)

YamiPhoenixfire: AUUGH! THE FLOOR! IT BURNS!

Phoenixfire: Probably because I put a ward evil spell on the floor while I was in there. The walls and ceiling are safe.

YamiPhoenixfire: Hey! I'm supposed to be the sadistic one here!

Phoenixfire: Well, I guess you're rubbing off on me. (curses are heard from inside the closet)

Well, now that she's gone, I have an announcement. You might have noticed that I've been updating this a lot lately That's because I'm going out of town soon. I will be at the beach the last week of July and the first week of August. Just so you're all prepared…

**Reviewer Responses**

Vanya the Elven Maiden of the Valar: Yaay! You guessed right! Glad to know another Evanescence fan.

Seducer of Darkness: Oh come on, my dark half would LOVE to read a story like that. (YamiPhoenixfire: You'd probably like to read it too, sadistic little…)(Phoenixfire: Shall I put warding spells on the entire interior of the closet?)(YamiPhoenixfire: NO! I get the point, I'll shut up!) There aren't enough Baten Kaitos stories out there, so if you come up with a good idea, you should definitely write it!

crazygirl306: Glad you liked the Evanescence song… since I'm going to be using at least one more in the future…

LighteningRae: She IS good at cliffhangers, isn't she? Then again, so am I…


	10. We all Fall Down

YamiPhoenixfire: Warning! I have PMS and authoress rights for this chapter! Mwahahhah!

Phoenixfire: Oh God, that means that all the relationships are going to go to merry Hell.

YamiPhoenixfire: (Glares) Stow it and tell the pretty reviewers who won your impromptu contest thingie.

Phoenixfire: Hey, this was YOUR idea!

(YamiPhoenixfire pulls out a gun)

Phoenixfire: (Starts to sweat) Okay, the people who won are: Vanya, the Elven Maiden of the Valar. You'll be showing up in this chapter, so good luck. (Whisper) I won't let her make you evil or anything, promise.

YamiPhoenixfire: And what's wrong with being evil?

Phoenixfire: Nothing! Absolutely nothing!

Also, a note on time flow between worlds: It's about the same, but sometimes fluxes, (which is why it can be night in Astarael's world and day in Baten Kaitos. This is mostly Because I Said So.) So three years in Astarael's world is three years in Baten Kaitos.

One more little note: That little scene with Astarael and Azil about Rob? That was a Major Plot Significance Scene, for several reasons. Why, you ask? (Turns to YamiPhoenixfire)

YamiPhoenixfire: Oh, I have _plans _for him (evil laughter)…. And to think, the only reason you had him in the story at first was to take out your frustrations with your boyfriend's overclinginess.

Phoenixfire: (blushes) Yes, well… Disclaimer time! I don't own Baten Kaitos or Mountain Dew. Nor do I own my parents. They own me. On with the story!

Chapter 9: We All Fall Down

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BE-!

_Crunch!_

"Heh heh heh… I've always wanted to do that… damn alarm clock…" Astarael murmured, staring at the ruined pieces of her alarm clock with a sleepy grin, before dragging herself out of bed to throw on the same clothes she'd worn to the hospital last night. Then, taking a second look at her outfit, she took off Selih's necklace and put it in her left breast pocket, before pulling out a navy and white striped cloth belt, the type with two metal loops instead of a buckle. She'd always thought it would make a cool choker.

She'd gotten no homework done last night, her parents now thought she was involved in some sort of gang, her sister knew what was _really _going on, two of Kalas's strongest enemies had decided that they were coming for her, her best friend was in the hospital…

And for some perverse reason, she was feeling cheerful, happy enough to forego beating the crap our of Rob. She wasn't sure what was making her so happy… maybe it was the fact that she was mostly sure that Selih was going to make it out of the hospital.

"Astarael." She jumped and whirled in surprise to find…

"Rana? What are you doing up this early?" Astarael asked.

"As if I was going to let you off the hook! You didn't answer any of my questions last night, and now I have bunches more! Did you save Selih? How can you fly? What other neat powers do you have? Why didn't you tell me earlier? What just happened to your alarm clock? Can you teach me how to fly and kill monsters? Why…"

"Hey, Rana, I have to change my clothes again. Y'know, I can't wear the same clothes I broke into the hospital in. I might have been recorded, and it would look suspicious. I'll talk to you later. I promise," Astarael said while shoving her sister out the door and locking it behind her.

_Damn. Now I have to change my clothes again. I like this outfit. Well… maybe the choker is a tad pathetic. I can ask… I'll ask Selih when I see her again. For now… what to wear…_

She flitted over to the closet and started going through her wardrobe when a dark blue cami trimmed in beaded lace caught her eye. _Oooh! I love this shirt! And it's a handwash shirt, so I rarely get to wear it! Yaay, and I can wear it with those cute little kaki pants that have the lavender flowers embroidered on the legs. And… I'll wear the black choker. Yup, now to take a looong shower so I'll be running late and won't have to deal with Rana. Yes, I am brilliant. Except… damnit, I won't be able to steal a Mountain Dew from… wait, we're out. AZIL _drank_ it all. Oh, well… I'll just have to buy some out of the vending machines when I get to school.

* * *

_

"Astarael Victoria Sanders, I want you to tell me what you've done that would have people angry enough to kill you," he mother snarled at her as she waited for her toast to hurry up and start toasting.

"And I _told _you, it was random. Completely _random_," Astarael snarled. "Must you call me by my full name so early in the morning? You know it irks me."

"Listen Astarael, I know you're hiding something from me…" _Okay, that does it. I am sick of her ignoring me!_

"No, YOU listen!" Astarael shouted, throwing the plastic jar of jam she had been holding onto the counter with an unnecessary amount of force. "I am so very sick of your hypocritical rambling that I could kill you! Jesus Christ, I was much better off _dead_, playing guardian angel for a traitor!" She stormed out of the kitchen, ran back to her bedroom, scooped up her backpack and stomped back down the stairs as loudly as she could.

"Astra, honey, please don't joke about things like that…" her mother begged. Astarael stopped for a moment, wondering what she had done to fluster her mother so badly. _What did I… wait. Oh sweet gods, I almost told her the TRUTH! God, I need to remember to keep my mouth shut before I have my caffeine._

"Look, Mom, THIS is why I'm not telling you anything. You find out a tiny bit, and you react like you want to lock me up in the loony bin. I don't…" She stopped abruptly in the middle of her sentence. A part of her really wanted to say, _I don't need you to drive me to the bus stop, I can fly there just fine! _pull out her wings, and storm out of the house. Or set something on fire. Setting something on fire seemed to be like a good idea right now…

Her hand reached into her pocket, where she was keeping the broken necklace that Selih had given to her. She could almost hear Selih chewing her out for being an idiot as soon as she touched it.

_Okay, this is NOT caffeine withdrawal. What the hell is wrong with me this morning?_

"I'm going to the bus stop now, maybe some walking can cure me of this idiocy," she muttered, turning on her flabbergasted mother and leaving before the woman could get a word in edgewise.

* * *

And on the couch, the brown-haired girl with the earphones in her ears, seemingly immersed in her music, smiled a small and evil smile.

* * *

_Soda, soda, need my DEW! _Astarael's thoughts roared. It took up most of her thoughts throughout the entire bus ride. It was easier than thinking about a multitude of other things… like why the hell she'd almost blown her cover. It had almost been as if her thoughts had been being manipulated by someone else…

_Can't the taint of Malpercio…_

It was way, way too early in the morning for her to finish that thought. The completion of that thought would require a place where she could spew profanities and destroy random inanimate objects without people staring at her. However, her rebellious brain not only finished that sentence, but also cheerily began to spew out the ramifications of the thing that she didn't want to think about. _Traitorous, traitorous mind._ Having your sanity brought into question is never a good thing, especially before 8:00 AM, especially when you are the one doing the questioning.

So, when she had reached the school, she had three shiny new conclusions to start what she already knew was going to be the Day From Hell.

One. She was corrupted, and could no longer trust her own judgment.

Two. Her mother was going to make her life hell the moment she got home.

Three. She needed a Mountain Dew. Or a Coke. Or ANYTHING that had ANY caffeine in it at all, preferably with a shot of some sort of brandy added in. _No, NO alcohol, already am questioning judgment, thank you._

So, just her soda. She made her way to the vending machines, blearily fishing around in the bottom of her purse for stray quarters, when…

"ASTRA!" …she was cruelly assaulted by an unknown male, who hg tackled her when she was off-guard and sent her crashing to the ground. Luckily for her, she managed to avoid bot spilling the contents of her purse and being cut on Briar Rose.

_What in the unholy name of the End Magnus was… hang on, there's only one person who would be STUPID enough to do that to me!_

"Robert Dixion, get your lecherous hands off of me before I remove them from the rest of your body. I'm in a bad mood already and you. Are. Not. HELPING!" she screamed at him. He let go and backed off immediately, looking confused and hurt. She'd never been this mean to him before. Of course, his little Hug Attacks had never succeeded before.

"A-Astra? What's wrong…"

"Don't you A-Astra me! The problem is YOU, idiot! Now stop harassing me and get out of my sight before I cut you to pieces and incinerate what's left, you pathetic, miserable little…" _Damn, I almost said 'mortal'. "Partial possession theory conformation number three._

"Look, what did I do? I thought…"

"That's the problem, Rob, _you never think at all. _You never noticed the thousand and one hints I dropped, trying to get you to leave me the _hell_ alone. You are the second thickest man I have _ever _met, and you probably place fourth in the grand contest of The Universe's Greatest Asshole. I TOLD you that Selih was in the hospital, Goddamnit! DIDN'T YOU EVER STOP TO THINK THAT THAT MIGHT MEAN THAT I WOULD BE IN A **_REALLY_ **BAD MOOD TODAY?"

He had the nerve to _glare _at her. "What the hell is your problem today?"

Astarael sucked in a breath at his audacity. _Okay, healing breaths. One, two, three…_

"You never act like this! You're being so cruel to me, and all I was trying to do was cheer you up? Why won't you just admit to the fact that you like me?"

_(kilstranglemaimcastrate) Four, five, six, seven…_

"I mean, we've been hanging out for almost a year, right? I know you're shy, but I can honestly say that I love you…"

"Screw it. Ten," Astarael hissed, her head snapping back up with a contorted expression of pure rage and hate that had before been reserved for Melodia. Rob quailed. _Oh crap, if she was angry before, now she looks like she wants to kill me!_

"What the _hell _do you know about love? When, Robert, did I _ever _give you the impression that I had _any _feelings for you other than _pity? _I have never felt romantically _or _physically attracted to you. Ever. I… you are nothing to me but a _little boy_, one who cannot understand the difference between love and lust. Come back and ask again when you can." _Of course, my answer will still be the same. I just might be inclined to tell you why._ "Until then, you _will _get off my backpack strap, you _will _stop staring at my chest, and you _will _remove yourself from my presence before I do something violent. Allow me to get my caffeine fix in peace."

Rob turned and ran. Most of the kids in the main hallway had already fled from the psychotic senior. _Some people have absolutely no survival instinct.

* * *

_

"Hey Astra, I heard that you attacked Rob in the hall. Is that true?" asked Vanya, one of the only people in her study hall who bothered to talk to her, when her nose wasn't buried in a book. Vanya and Astarael had been almost-friends for a long time. They'd gone to the same grade school since kindergarten, had been in the same Girl Scout troop. Their mothers were on the same committees at church.

"Yes. Verbally. And that was a great show of restraint on my part," Astarael snapped. "That little… he tackled me! It was sexual harassment!"

Vanya shot her a skeptical look. "Are you sure you don't want to calm down a tad?"

"Hell yes. He said that he loved me, that fool! What the heck does he know about love?"

Vanya sighed. "And knowing the blunt person you've become since your two-year nap, you just came right out and told him that, didn't you?

"Yes. He needs to know he has absolutely no chance with me."

Vanya's blue eyes sparkled. "Is there someone else?"

"No." Astarael's lips quirked, trying to smile. One of Astarael's oldest habits had been her tenancy to smile when she was lying. It was a habit that she had almost completely eliminated since awakening from her coma, but every once in a while it tried to resurface.

Like now.

"If you say so," Vanya replied, returning to her book. She and Astarael had known each other for almost forever, but they weren't really friends. Vanya knew that if Astarael felt like telling her, that she would. If she didn't, than she wouldn't. It was that simple.

About twenty minutes into their study hall, Astarael spoke again. "Kalas."

"Hmm?" Vanya replied.

"The guy I like. His name is Kalas."

"…I see…"

* * *

The thing that neither girl had noticed was that a boy named Robert had been standing outside the room at that time (he was cutting). And he had heard that exchange, which prompted him to wonder, _who the hell is Kalas?_

But the boy did not march in and demand answers of the blue-haired girl, oh no. He had no desire to be killed, especially since there were easier ways of obtaining information.

After all, he had study hall fifth period, with a charming sophomore girl named Azil Sanders.

* * *

Said girl was currently _also _cutting class. She was busy sitting on the roof, grooming her large black wings while staring balefully at her two new servants.

"Astarael's last class is Latin. I told you where it is. I want no mistakes… I need the Guardian dead _now._"

The two, a man and a woman, bowed their heads and left to take their positions. Even if they failed (which she expected them to), she had her backup plan… the one thing that she was certain her foolish sister would never be able to destroy.

"Checkmate, young guardian. One way or another, your soul belongs to me."

* * *

The woman was old, older than ninety, with steel gray hair andglasses thicker than the average magnifyingglass,but still walking chipperly down the streets of New York City. She'd finally saved up enough to rent a car from the dealer and visit her granddaughter's family…

"Old woman! Gimmie your money, and we won't hurt you!" said a young man dressed if torn street clothing, as he held a gun up at her.

"No, man!" pleaded the other man next to him. "Don't attack her! Old Lady Corietta is…"

"That's just a fairy tale," his companion snarled, taking his eyes off the granny he was getting ready to rob. "No one believes in magic these days…"

"I beg to differ," the old woman replied. He turned back to her, and his snarled retort died on his lips.

"Jesus!" he gasped, firing off several shots at the old woman, who was now sporting three pairs of _wings_, all a blinding shade of pure white and each four feet long. The bullets ricoched off of some sort of barrier, and they were forced to jump behind a dumpster to avoid getting themselves killed. The second man (the one without the gun) ran away screaming at this point. The first man turned back, snarling at the old woman. "You…"

"**I am the Light, dispeller of Darkness!" **the old woman chanted, extending both her arms. **"Guardian Spell: Shining Seraphim!"**

**

* * *

**

Next time: Bloodshed. The Mysterious Old Woman, Old Lady Corietta. Violence. The Baten Kaitos crew. And, of course, Mountain Dew. Where would this story be without Mountain Dew?

YamiPhoenixfire: Okay, chapter's done Now get out here, goody-two-shoes, and do the reviewer responses!

Phoenixfire: (is cowering under the table) No.

YamiPhoenixfire: Why n… Oh. Of course. Awyr found you.

Phoenixfire: (in a singsong voice) Awyr's gonna _killlllllll _me, Awyr's gonna _killllllllllllll _me!

YamiPhoenixfire: God, all she's gonna do is criticize you! It's not that bad!

Phoenixfire: So says you.

YamiPhoenixfire: Wimp. Fine, _I'll _do the responses. (mutters) Useless good half…

Phoenixfire: No! I'll do it! You'll scare away all the pretty reviewers!

Vanya, the Elven Maiden of the Valar: Here's your update.

crazygirl306: Sorry there's no Lyude in this chapter… hopefully, there will be a little more of him and the other Baten Kaitos characters in the next chapter… although frankly, it's looking Astarael-centric again.

Duck's Ruckus: Well, I think I have to attribute my proper English skills to my mother and Microsoft word. Truth be told, I'm a horrible speller… (blushes at all the compliments) (YamiPhoenixfire: Hey, don't get cocky. As soon as Awyr realizes that it's you writing this, she's going to tear it to pieces with her editing skills.)(Phoenixfire: Don't remind me!) And Astarael… well, if she _does _get Kalas, than she's definitely going to have to bleed for it… not gonna say any more…

LighteningRae: Hmm… wonder why you had to leave so quickly. Thank you for taking the time to review my story.

Awyr: Pixie sticks… mmm… (YamiPhoenixfire: NO! DON'T EAT THOSE! THAT'S MY PRIVATE STASH! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!) Um… yes, this is me. Don't kill me, gomen?

Seducer of Darkness: Shocked into silence? (YamiPhoenixfire: My work here is done…)(Phoenixfire hits YamiPhoenixfire over the head with a summer reading book)

Karina Gomez: NOT THE DOG MINIONS! AAAAH!

…here's your update. I'm sorry… I was away in Ocean City (NJ), so it took me longer to update than usual. (YamiPhoenixfire: Why are you apologizing? You DID warn them.) (Pheonixifre hits her with books again)

Luna-Starr: He hee! They're going to get to Earth very soon…

Inquz: Glad you like my fic. (goes off to read new fanfiction)

YamiPhoenixfire: Well, since my good half wandered off, I guess I'll…

Rana: No you won't. My big sister says that you're not allowed near the computer 'on pain of a firey death' while she's not here. So I'm going to finish up!

YamiPhoenixifre: You're only twelve! You can't do the responses! I won't let you! (takes the keyboard)

Rana: (takes a big breath)

YamiPhoenixfire: You're not going to…

Rana: SISTER! YOUR EVIL VERSION IS GOING THROUGH YOUR DIARY AGAIN!

YamiPhoenixfire: Kid, when I get out of the closet, I AM going to kill you!

Phoenixfire: (reappears… and shoves a protesting YamiPhoenixfire into the closet) Well, since I'm back, I might as well finish up.

Rana: (muttering) Drat. (Wanders out of bedroom)

Shy Guy 32: The name Astarael actually came from a trilogy of books by Garth Nix that I really liked. In the books, Astarael is the name of one of the seven bells that necromancers use. It's the largest of the seven bells, and sends everyone within hearing range to the realms of death when rung, and is also called Astarael the Sorrowful. Ironically, Rana is the name of the smallest bell, and puts those who hear it to sleep when rung, but doesn't affect the ringer. Azil isn't the name of a bell. It's the name of my least favorite sister spelled backwards. Their last name was chosen at random. 595,600 out of 365? Is that the number of minutes in a year or something like that? (YamiPhoenixfire: MATH! GOD HELP US!)(Phoenixfire: Remember, you're in the closet. SO BE QUIET!)

And that's it for reviewer responses. Now I'm off to read more fanfiction… bye for now!

* * *

For those of you who were wondering, Astarael's list of the Biggest Assholes in the Universe

Number Five: Azil.

Number Four: Rob

Number Three: Kalas (currently in danger of losing his coveted position to Rob)

Number Two: Melodia

Number One: The person who ran her over with the SUV, whose name hasn't been disclosed to prevent her from maiming him.


	11. A Crimson Phoenix

YamiPhoenixfire: HAHAHHAHHAHHAHHAH!

Rana: Aieee! (Flees crazed woman with the anti-good wards)

YamiPhoenixfire: I hereby dedicate this chapter to Seducer of Darkness, for your lovely gift! (Sticks wards on Phoenixfire's bed) You're the best! Now, if only I could find my stupid good half…

Huh? Oh, right. Disclaimer. Don't own Mountain Dew, Baten Kaitos, or Cabbage Patch Kid dolls. Why Cabbage Patch Kid dolls? You'll see...

Before we start the chapter… YamiPhoenixfire's guide to Magnus Battles for this fic. And yes, I am well aware of the fact that this differs from the battle system that they use in the game… I am merely trying to make things more realistic. I would apologize for the liberties I am taking… but that's Phoenixfire's job, and she mysteriously vanished when I got my new toys. (Brandishes anti-good wards and cackles evilly) So I won't.

**Gun-type weapons**: (Lyude, Ayme) The magnus that power the guns are loaded into a slot in the handle, like bullets. Once they have all been used once, they are ejected, and the gun requires thirty to sixty seconds to cool before reloading. (ie, shuffling the deck) The storage area for the magnus can be expanded to hold more cards with certain magnus (the class-up items)

**Magic-users**: (Xelha, Mizuti, and the Children of the Earth and the Witches from Wazn if I choose to include them) Spell magnus are drawn from a deck (usually secured in some sort of holder on the forearm, waist, or legs for quick and easy access), and thrown at the enemy, expelling their energies on impact. Once a magic user has used up all their cards, he or she can summon the cards back and replenish their power with their own magical energies (ie, shuffling the deck). A magic-user can use certain magnus to help increase their mental energies, and hence the amount of cards they can support in a deck (class up cards).

**Melee fighters**: (Kalas, Gibari, Savyna, Folon, practically every enemy you encounter in the game, etc.) Weapons are summoned from magnus, and generally THE SAME WEAPON IS USED THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE BATTLE. Honestly, does it really make sense to have the ability to summon a sword, and then have it disappear THREE SECONDS LATER?

Sorry, pet peeve of mine. Anyway… Weapons are sometimes alternated (like if you started out using a dark elemental sword and then you discover "Hey, I'm doing absolutely no damage!" you switch to a light elemental weapon instead) Melee fighters also keep a deck close to hand… because they rack up the most damage, and need to have their healing and defending magnus close to hand (Or your energy injections, if your name is Folon). Also, they keep their special technique magnus (finishers) in their decks. Increase the number of cards able to be kept in your deck with the class up magnus, blah, blah, blah… I hate explaining things, can you tell? Anyway, let's just get on with the story!

Chapter Ten: A Crimson Phoenix

"Hello, I don't think we've been properly introduced. I'm Rob Dixion."

"Why do you think I care? Go back to your own table."

"Wait! I need to talk to you!"

"…about what?"

"You're Astarael's younger sister, right?"

"Yes. Why are you asking?".

"I need your help. I really… I just want to be able to talk to her again without her biting my head off." "…and you want me to put in a good word?" _He fell for it!_

"Could you?"

"I could do something even better, but it all depends on one thing…" _Hook…_

"I'll do anything!" _Line…_

"Do you believe in magic?" _And sinker…

* * *

_

Astarael had been right. Her day was an absolute nightmare. 

First of all, she had only been able to finish her English vocabulary homework. This left her with missing Biology, Math, Latin, and History homework. She had really needed to do her homework last night.

She had even been deprived her right to work on her Latin homework during lunch: Rob had cut his German IV class to come and apologize, which meant that _she _had to cut lunch to avoid him, otherwise she probably would have killed him.

So, by the time she got to Latin, all she really wanted to do was strangle someone. Preferably Rob.

_Why do I care about some battle that happened over a thousand years ago?_ Astarael wondered as she ploughed through the translations of the book written by Julius Caesar that she had neglected to do for homework. It book was about Caesar's campaign in Gaul, and it was the most boring thing she had ever read in _any _language. _Honestly, a famous person writes a book, and then _everyone _has to read it. Caesar. Bill Clinton. Charles Dickens. If _I _wrote something, I bet that _nobody _would read it…_

She was spared by the bell ringing, but her teacher, Mrs. Leigh, motioned for her to stay and talk.

"Listen, Astra," the woman said. "Your grades have fallen drastically compared to your grades in the last course. What changed over the summer? Or, more accurately, what changed six months ago, when your grades started to drop to begin with?"

"I… I don't know. I'm sorry I didn't have the homework last night; I had a… personal emergency. I'll have it done tomorrow…" _Shit. I should have listened to Selih, and kept my grades up. God… _is _there a God in this world…? …please don't let her put the pieces together…_

Mrs. Leigh looked at the girl, who had once been so determined when catching up on the two years of schooling that she had lost, who now seemed not to care. But if she truly cared for nothing, why did she always look ready to collapse, as if she had been driving herself to the point of exhaustion day after day? Why were those odd golden eyes always scanning the windows, as if looking for some unseen threat?

"Astarael Sanders, you always say that when I confront you. Do you have some sort of extracurricular activity that's distracting you from your schoolwork?"

"No," Astarael lied smoothly. "Look, nice though it is to talk to you, I'm going to miss the bus…"

"No you're not."

"Wha…"

"You're not going to miss the bus because you now have a detention with me." _And I will not let you leave until I get some answers…_ "So you can sit at that desk and give me a _convincing _reason as to why you aren't getting your homework done."

* * *

_Just my horrific luck to get one of the few teachers in this whole damn school that actually cares about her students, _Astarael thought to herself as she glared murder at the clock. She'd been in here for ten whole minutes, and the excuses that ran through her head were becoming more and more ludicrous. _Maybe I should just tell her I'm doing drugs or I'm pregnant or something…_

A small clicking sound came from the hallway, one that she certainly would have missed if she hadn't been bored out of her skull and desperately searching for a distraction. She had heard that sound countless times as a spirit, and had never expected to hear it in her own world.

It was the sound of a Magnus deck being loaded into a gun-like weapon.

_Ayme!_

"Get down!" she yelped, lunging at her teacher. They both went crashing to the ground, just as the bullets tore through the air where the woman's chest had been mere moments before.

"Aww! How cute! The likkle Guardian always jumps to protect _anyone_, despite her personal feelings for them. Your hated sister, this disgusting woman who denies you what little freedom you _do _possess… You're a fool, Guardian. I can't believe that _you _are the one who was responsible for Giacomo's death."

"Did you come across the dimensions just to taunt me, Ayme?" Astarael asked as she got up and drew her weapon from her purse, ignoring her teacher's strangled gasps. "Because if you _did _come just to talk about the good old days, I think there's a better place to have this discussion. The roof."

Ayme smiled a wicked smile. "Trying to protect people _again_, Guardian? How very sweet and naïve of you. You see, I think that we have associated enough for you to know that I _enjoy _causing as much pain as is humanly possible. Why would I pass up on such an excellent opportunity to cause suffering?" Ayme aimed her gun at the helpless teacher, but Astarael dove forward, tackling her, causing the shots to go wide. The blackboard, her poor abused backpack, and several desks were ruined by Ayme's failed attack.

"When I said that we were going to take this outside, I _meant it_, Ayme," Astarael snarled, dragging a kicking and screaming Ayme out the window with her.

Mrs. Leigh gasped in horror, thinking that her student had just committed a suicidal act to save her. However, just as she was beginning to wonder why she hadn't heard the two women impacting with the parking lot yet, her eyes were greeted by a sight that she would never forget.

The horrible woman dressed in black with the fuchsia hair rose up, propelled by what appeared to be _rocket-propelled boots. _Following her, screaming in fury, was Astarael. Astarael, who now resembled a fallen angel more than anything else with her multicolor wings and her contorted expression of rage.

_If they're going to fight on the roof… they might destroy the school and everyone in it, _the woman realized. So she did what any responsible adult would do in her situation.

She staggered into the hall (she was still winded and weak from when Astarael had thrown herself at her to save her from the bullets) and pulled the fire alarm.

* * *

"**Chaotic Flames!"** Folon shouted, hurling a ball of fire at Astarael as soon as she had cleared the rooftop. She dropped down a bit to avoid the flames. She then had to make a tight turn to avoid a hail of bullets from below, courtesy of Ayme. Even though she avoided most of the damage, a stray bullet still managed to clip her side, creating a bloody gash

"You were planning to fight me here all along, weren't you?" she hissed, quickly touching down and drawing in her wings. (Really, she had never liked her wings. Whenever she ended up in a battle where she needed to fly, they were too long to really be able to maneuver easily.) _If Ayme stays up there, instead of coming down to fight here, I'm going to be in a world of hurt…_

"Are you awake, Guardian?" Folon taunted, aiming a right hook at her face, which she barely ducked in time. She then twisted out of the way of a hail of bullets from Ayme, who was still airborne. _Okay, hell, aerial battle it is. _Aerial battle had a major advantage for her: Folon couldn't fly. Flying would place her out of the way of his devastating physical attacks, and would also take her out of range of his Worg Laser finisher, leaving him only able to try and hit her with his Chaotic Flames attack, which she found to be rather slow and obvious. With a battle cry, she flexed her wings and took to the air once again…

Of course, Ayme wasn't about to allow her into the sky so easily. She had to fight for altitude, both because of her unwieldy wings and Ayme's constant annoying barrages. Folon wasn't one to stand idle either. He continued to assault her with punches and kicks before she reached a decent height, and after that still threw fireballs at her.

"**I am Time, dispeller of Wind! Guardian Spell…" **Oh, and there was the fire alarm. _Stupid idiots who pull the alarm after school to get out of detention…_

"**Crazy Rabbit!"**

"**Lingering Time!"** Luckily for Astarael, the spell froze the bullets and disintegrated them, and dealt a massive amount of damage to Ayme, knocking the pink-haired gunner out of the sky. She hurled through the air at an angle, and ended up landing on top of an air conditioning vent with a sickening thudding sound. Unfortunately, she'd stayed in one place for too long. One of Folon's fireballs hit her black wing.

It was the most painful thing she had ever experienced, including her own death, which had been painful enough. It almost felt like the core of her being was on fire. She reacted instinctively by drawing her wings back in, although even then it still hurt, and she couldn't help but scream.

There was a problem with that, however. Namely, the fact that she was no longer over the roof, and was hanging about fifty feet in the air with no means to stop herself from falling.

_Hell, it might as well be three hundred feet above the roof. I don't think I can draw out my wings yet in this condition. Which means no flying and no spells. Goodbye again, cruel world, my life was far too short…_

But then she noticed her salvation: A rusted metal pole that was stickingout from a pile of rubble, and jutting out over the edge of the roof. Desperately she snapped her whip around it…

She stopped falling with a jolt, her feet still dangling well above the ground. She painfully pulled herself back onto the roof where she collapsed, panting, and ignoring the bits of construction material left over from the roof repairs that were jabbing her back.

"Come out, come out little Guardian…" Folon cooed in his rather annoying manner. _Shit, he's coming this way._ She rolled into a crouch and slowly regained her feet. She was still smarting, and her wounded sidewas still bleeding, but she was otherwise feeling better. She then stepped out from behind the pile of junk…

And found herself almost face to face with Folon. Before Folon could rush her, she lashed out haphazardly with her whip. He ducked, so instead of wrapping itself around his neck, it merely grazed his skull. He wiped an arm across his forehead to get rid of all the blood.

"You're going to have to do better than that!" Folon sneered.

"I don't have to do any better than this to defeat _you_," Astarael retorted. She lashed out with her whip again, and this time managed to wrap it around his waist. But she wasn't aiming for physical damage this time, oh no. He was going to _pay _for hitting her wing.

"**I am the Fire, hear my voice!" **she shouted as her wings erupted from her back. Folon lunged at her to try and interrupt the incantation, but she merely flew over his head. Now Folon was the one standing with his back to the edge of the roof. When she hit him, the force of the spell would send him flying into empty space. **"Guardian Spell: Hellfi-"**

"**CRAZY RABBIT!"** Bullets ripped through her back. She could feel them piercing her organs, ripping through her lungs… _How the heck did Ayme survive that fall? _She wondered as she hit the concrete…

* * *

"Oh dear," Deborah Sanders sighed. She had been dusting the old pictures on the mantle of the fireplace, when she had picked up an older picture of Astarael and had discovered the glass covering the picture to be cracked for apparently no reason. Her grandmother had always said such a thing was an omen of death, but… "I don't believe in those silly superstitions."

She couldn't help looking over at the digital clock on the VCR, though, just to check the time. 3:59.

_Strange… she should have been home nearly an hour ago… oh, who am I kidding? She probably just has a detention, that delinquent._

Yes, detention. Astarael was probably fine.

After all, it was school. What was the worst thing that could happen to her?

_Ring… Ring… Ring…_

"Probably telemarketers… Hello? Yes, this is Deborah Sanders. What? Grandmother? You're still… No, I'm not unhappy that you're still alive, just surprised. How did you get this number… I see. Mother gave it to you… WHAT? WHAT DO YOU _MEAN_ THAT YOU'RE COMING OVER TOMORROW? No, I forbid it! I won't have you filling the children's heads with those silly stories about magic! I… _why, _exactly, should I be asking my children about_ magic, _Grandmother? …Oh, no, not this nonsense again… wait! Don't you hang up on me! I'm not a child anymore! Grandmo-"

_Beep, Beep, Beep…_

She slammed the phone down and proceeded to use several words that she would not have permitted any of her children to use. _That miserable old bat, why did she decide that it was so urgent to see the children _NOW? _Well, I'll be damned if I make it easy for her!

* * *

_"Excellent," Folon sneered, spitting at Astarael's body. She was still breathing… _barely. _She wouldn't last long with three quarters of her blood gone and a hole in her left lung. "Nice shooting, Ayme."

"Thanks," the woman gasped.

"Wanna go torture the kids?" Folon asked, jerking a thumb at the children who had been herded outside.

"I… think I broke some ribs when I fell. I'll just stay here."

"Are you sure you're okay?" Folon asked, dropping the whip that he'd disentangled from his waist in a growing pool of its owner's blood and walking to Ayme's side. "I'm sure the master would be happy to patch you-"

"_And where do you think you're going?" _someone hissed. Ayme and Folon screamed as they were suddenly enveloped in a vortex of turquoise wind magic and effectively immobilized. Folon managed to crane his neck enough to see who their attacker was…

Astarael had forced herself to her knees. Her clothing was so drenched in blood that it was impossible to tell what colors the garments had originally been. Her right hand was clutching the handle of the whip tightly, while her left arm hung nervelessly at her side.

"You! You're supposed to be dead! There is no way a human could have survived that!" Folon screamed, even as the wind vortex tried to crush his lungs.

Astarael let loose a hacking cough, blood rushing out of her mouth, before she answered. _"Did you… honestly expect… that I would let you get away… with attacking my friend… Folon?" _she coughed again, and then held up her right arm. To Ayme and Folon's horror, the whip caught on fire.

"**I am… Vengeance… hear… my voice…" **The fire at the tip of the whip enlarged to form a bird made entirely of flame. Astarael then started to swing her whip in a figure eight formation. Every time she drew the whip across her body, the firebird passed through Ayme and Folon. She did this twelve times before speaking again.

"**Guardian spell…" **She twirled the handle of the whip gracefully before bringing it up over her head…

"**Fallen Phoenix!" **And bringing it straight down, which caused the bird to slam into the tornado at maximum speed, creating a gigantic explosion.

When the dust cleared, Ayme and Folon were still standing, but charred almost beyond recognition.

"Wonderful job, Guardian," Folon gasped as he started to disintegrate. "Too bad that this was only a test."

Before Astarael could say anything, Ayme and Folon crumbled into dust, leaving behind….

Two blackened Magnus.

Two empty cans of Mountain Dew.

And two Cabbage Patch Kid dolls.

_Oh, don't tell me that… _Astarael crawled over to the dolls. Aside from both being burnt, one had gotten torn around the middle and had its head cut open. The other had tears and punctures on its back, and two toy guns taped to both its hands.

_Hey, mom, sorry I'm such a mess… I just got attacked by the killer Cabbage Patch Kid Dolls… no big deal…__

* * *

_The boy stopped his camera as the blue-haired girl hit theroof for the second time. "No one in the Video Club is going to believe this," he muttered to the girl sitting next to him as he scurried back to his backpack to find his cell phone and call an ambulance.

* * *

Phoenixfire: (looks at screen) CABBAGE PATCH KID DOLLS?

YamiPhoenixfire: I know. Amusing, isn't it? Now do the reviewer responses.

Phoenixfire: (grumbling) She started off as a figment of my imagination, and now she bosses me around like my mother…

YamiPhoenixfire: (holds up anti-good wards) Do you know what these are?

Phoenixfire: EEEP! I'll be good!

Seducer of Darkness: Oh, I'm sorry that the site killed your review. I'm also sorry that you gave my evil version the means to destroy me. (YamiPhoenixfire: Well I'm not! Great job! By the way, are you a girl or a guy? Because you're getting an appearance in the next chapter!) Oh, and don't worry about Rob getting off. I'll give you a hint… he's eventually going to get beaten up by Girl Scouts. (YamiPhoenixfire: HEY! No spoiling my evil plans!)(Phoenixfire: AAAAAAAAH! The Anti-good wards! The paaaaaaaain!)

Didactylos: (Grins) Thanks for the compliment.

Vanya the Elven Maiden of the Valar: (blushes) Thanks, I'm glad you liked your character. And yes, Azil is one of the evil people… whether she is the only one remains to be seen.

Karina Gomez: Um… thanks, just keep the demon dogs away from me…

LighteningRae: Yeah, last chapter was basically 'Astarael go BOOM!'

Luna-Starr: If you look closely in this chapter, the mysterious old lady's identity is revealed. Here's your update, I'm glad you like my fic so much.

Iname as One: And yet another person from my real life discovers my FanFiction account. (huge smile) Frankly, I was afraid you'd find my story stupid and make fun of me. I'm glad you actually like it. Hurry up and post your fic so I can read it! (YamiPhoenixfire: Nevermind that, I just want that Escape Magnus! Although it's not all that bad in the closet. I use Phoenixfire's old Playmobile castle stuff to enact large scale battles when I get too bored. However, the evil army always seems to win for some reason…)

Phoenixfire: (yawns) I think I'll take a nap before dinner…

YamiPhoenixfire: Um… you might not want to do…

Phoenixfire: AAAAAAAAAAAAAH! THE PAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIN!

YamiPhoenixfire: …that… yeah, I think I'm going to leave before she recovers… (finds the door to be locked from the outside. On the door is a sign that reads 'Got you back! Love, Rana'.) Or I can spend my time in the closet figuring out ways to kill that brat and make it look like an accident. Yeah…


	12. Conversations

(A/n: I am going to formally apologize for the latness of this chapter. But I have a good excuse! My computer's internet connection spazzed out, and I didn't get it back until late yesterday!)

Phoenixfire: (sobs)

YamiPhoenixfire: What's wrong? Who's grave is that… (Looks at grave. It reads 'Here lies summer of 2005') Oh God. Why did I ask? (looks at other graves) And you've got graves for winter and spring breaks! God you are pathetic! …Hey, why isn't there a grave for last winter break?  
Phoenixfire: (glares) Do you _remember _our last winter break?

YamiPhoenixfire: Well, no.

Phoenixfire: Colonial…

YamiPhoenixfire: WILLIAMSBURG! AAAH, THE HORROR OF BEING FORCED TO LEARN THINGS WHILE ON BREAK! AND THE LITTLE COUSINS OF **DOOM**! AND BEING SEPARATED FROM MY CONSOLE GAMES! AND HAVING TO DEAL CONSTANTLY WITH YOUR WHINEY SISTERS FOR OVER A WEEK! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! (faints)

Phoenixfire: Ouch, I guess she totally managed to suppress that memory. (To YamiPhoenixfire) And take that as my revenge! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Oh well, that means that I get to write this chapter. Finally…

Disclaimer: Y'know, counting the prologue, this is twelve chapters long. If you haven't figured out that I don't own Baten Kaitos yet, you're an idiot.

Chapter Eleven: Conversations (Yes, this is sort of a filler chapter. Bite me. But read the whole thing… the end gets very interesting)

_(Friday, one day after Astarael was attacked…)_

"Kyle, I'm against this! You can't just put copies of those tapes on the net!"

"Oh, really? Why not! This is huge… and it's not like the police are going to let us go public with it any other way."

"I'm not worried about the police, you idiot! I'm worried about that girl! The one who they carried away on the stretcher! I'm worried about how many pieces she's going to chop us into when she finds out about this!"

"She won't touch us. We have valuable information for her."

"Like what?"

"Guess who was smart enough to start his camera up again when we saw that other freak."

"You didn't…!"

"Oh yes I did! And I did some research on the net… well, actually, I hacked into the school's database. Take a look at this!"

"… and you're not telling the police."

"Oh, they'll find out. I've already put this up on the net."

"Y'know what… I wash my hands clean of you. No offense, but I don't want to die."

"Suit yourself. I haven't mentioned you yet… had a feeling you might feel that way. No one except the police even knows you were up here today. I'll try to keep it that way, Tamara."

"Thanks, Kyle."

"You're welcome." He turned back to his webpage and added, _Questions? Comments? Death threats? Well email me at **SeducerOfDarkness...**

* * *

_

Get down here! Your sister is getting out of the hospital today! We're all going to pick her up!"

"Sheesh, I'm coming Mom! What did you think I was going to do? Stay home and play video games?"

"…"

"Well, for your information, I was planning on staying home and putting together a starter deck for Astarael. She seems sorta interested in Magic…"

"You do know that if you teach Astarael how to play Magic, Selih is going to kill you."

"That's why she's not going to find out, right Kat?"

"…how much will you pay me for my silence?"

"Katrina! No extorting money from your brother! Now both of you get down here!"

"Yes, Mom."

"Coming Mom."

* * *

"Hello, Sanders residence. Oh, Robert… yes, Astra's in the hospital, but she seems to be just fine. It's a miracle, after having lost so much blood… my daughter seems to attract miracles. We just got back from visiting her. She hasn't woken up yet… yes, friends can come in to see her…. Hm? Flowers? I think that Astra would like that. It's room 209… the same room her friend Selih was in, isn't that ironic? …so you'll be coming tomorrow. Thank you, I know that Astra needs the support of her friends right now. By the way, were you staying after school today? Azil didn't come home yet either… oh. No, thank you, you have been helpful. She probably just got a ride home with one of her friends and forgot to call me. Good-bye… my grandmother showed up in town this morning, and she's been giving me no end of grief."

* * *

"Gibari." 

"Kalas. Xelha. Lyude, Mizuti, Savyna… looks like the old gang is back together, with a few notable additions," the fisherman said, nodding his head in the direction of Melodia, and Ayme and Folon (Lyude hadn't been able to leave the palace without bodyguards, and counted himself lucky that both Skeed and Vallye had been too busy to accompany him) "So, what's wrong this time?"

"We can explain on the way to Nekton."

"The Shrine of Spirits? Why are we going there?"

"Because we need to visit Astarael…"

* * *

"It's the strangest thing I've ever encountered in all my time as a doctor, Officer," the doctor sighed, taking another sip of his coffee. "I was in charge of Miss Sanders when she was first admitted three years ago after that car accident. Did you know about that, by the way?" 

"No, we weren't aware of that, Doctor. We're here to learn about any abnormalities in Astarael Sander's medical history."

"Yes. Well, she came in here three years ago after she threw herself in front of a sports utility vehicle to save her younger sister. Noble, that was, very noble. Yes, well, Miss Sanders suffered multiple injuries from that little stunt. Fractured almost every bone in her left arm and shoulder… broke multiple ribs, fractured her pelvis… and broke her skull and the vertebrae in her neck. She landed on her head, from what I've heard."

"What are you…"

"What I'm trying to say, Officer, is that Astarael Victoria Sanders was already dead when she came to the hospital. She wasn't admitted into a bed… she was checked into the morgue. It scared the heck out of the boys working there when she suddenly started breathing again. And again, today. She was picked up by the paramedics with a huge hole in her lung, dislocated shoulder, damage to several of her other major organs from some type of projectile that I've never even seen before… she shouldn't have lived. But, by the time we got her into the ER, half of her injuries were already healed. I also took a sample of her blood, three years ago, and a sample today. I'm having a friend of mine do a DNA analysis. Do you know what I think he's going to find? I think that he's going to find that her DNA is vastly different from what it was three years ago… and from that of normal humans. Something happened to her while she was in that coma after the accident… I just wish I knew what…." The discussion was paused, however, by a series of screams.

"What the devil…" the officer muttered, grabbing his gun. Just then, a nurse burst into the room.

"Officer! Doctor! It's horrible! The sky's turned green, and there's some sort of horrible… thing… floating there!"

"What!" They all rushed to the windows.

Sure enough, the sky had indeed turned green, blotting out the very sun itself. The only light came from the odd glow that the new sky produced, casting the area into twilight. As they gazed off into the distance, they noticed that the greenness ended abruptly, as if they were inside some sort of giant jar. Anything that had been on both sides of the border was now burning merrily. Trees. Houses. Probably people as well, the border was too far away to be able to tell. And floating several miles over their heads and to the northwest… was some sort of castle, a castle so different from anything he had ever seen before that it was impossible to describe.

"What in the heck…"

"Cor Hydrae."

Everyone turned to the speaker. She was a teenaged girl, slender and tall with wavy brown hair and piercing green eyes. She was dressed in a blood-red spaghetti-strap shirt that showed her black bra straps and a pair of tight black pants, as well as a pair of black boots. She was very pretty, but there was something dark and otherworldly about her that couldn't be put into mere words. Something disturbing.

Something evil.

The police officer found his hand straying to his gun as he spoke to the strange girl. "Do you know something about this, little girl?"

She laughed, a cold and hard sound that chilled the blood of everyone who heard it. "Oh, I know everything about this, considering that I am the one who caused it. If you destroy me, little man, you can reverse it."

The officer didn't understand what made him shoot at the teenager. She seemed weak and harmless, and her clothing was far too tight to hide a concealed weapon. And her words were far too ludicrous to be true…

…but somehow, deep down, he knew she wasn't lying.

"Ha… hahahahahahaha!" she giggled. To his horror, the bullets had simply bounced harmlessly off her skin. "I am a god, stupid little man. Did you think that it would be so easy? That your silly metal pellets would harm me?"

"What in hell are you?" the officer shouted as the other people screamed and ran away.

"Weren't you listening, you fool? I shall tell you again. I am Malpercio, god of death, hatred, and destruction. Of course, you could always ask that annoying Guardian… but you don't even know what a Guardian is, do you? My, my, I am so glad I transferred a portion of my consciousness here along the bond. Terran humans are so much stupider than Kaiten humans. This is going to be so easy… I must remember to thank that Raven when I return to the Kaiten realm fully recharged. Everything… is going almost exactly according to plan." She made a gesture at the window, and it exploded outward, showering the people who had been stupid enough to leave the hospital to gawk in glass. "I shall leave you for now. So little time, so much to do…!" She leapt out the window, six black wings erupted from her form, two from her head and four from her back. However, if you looked at the wings very closely, you could see that not all of them were actually black. The two extending from her shoulder blades were, but the ones on her head were actually extremely dark shades of green and turquoise, while the ones on her lower back were nearly black versions of red and blue. Almost as if the blackness had corrupted them

The police officer's gun dropped from his nerveless hands and went off accidentally, firing a bullet into a nearby wall. Something told him that his day was about to get even longer…

* * *

"It has begun," sighed the old woman. 

"What? What are you talking about, Grandmother?" asked Deborah, Astarael's mother.

"The remains of the ancient gods… the curse of Malpercio, has bled over into this world at long last. A thousand years after we Guardians sacrificed our lives and our souls to create the artifacts needed to destroy them, the curse of the gods has come full circle."

"Oh, more of your stupid fairy tales? This is not a time for bedtime stories, Grandmother!"

"Look out the window, you foolish girl!" The old woman shouted, pointing to the now green sky. "Look, and with your own eyes see the truth! This is no fairy tale… it's the _truth_! It's real! You… Deborah, my granddaughter, you have the strongest magical abilities of your generation, but you never use them! You deny their existence, and in doing so you weaken them! Our world is in danger! Do you care so little for Terra, and your family, that you will continue to sit and deny your very heritage?"

_"_What do you know of my family? You're never around!"

"Because you shut me out!"

"You're a danger to the children with your silly stories!"

The older woman shook with rage. Her fists clenched on the sides of the chair she was sitting in, and it took a visible effort for her to calm herself. "Did you know that one of your children is a full Guardian? Do you still remember what that means?"

Deborah dropped the mug that she was holding. Fragments of things her mother and grandmother had told her as a child came back in full force to mock her. _Full Guardians are far more powerful than normal Guardians… learn three more spells… cannot die by normal means…_

_…cannot die…_

_…by normal means…_

_…Astarael…_

"Don't be stupid, Grandmother. You think I wouldn't have noticed?" Deborah scoffed.

"You never see. You refuse to see. I sensed both a full Guardian and a Fallen Guardian here. That is why I came." She paused at this, and looked her granddaughter straight in the eye. "You know what this means."

_…To fall from the Light is an unforgivable crime, and shall be punished by death without exception…_

_…To consort with the Kaiten realm is henceforth an unforgivable crime and shall be punished by death without exception…_

And within hospital room 209, a young girl slept. Even while dreaming, her brow was knitted with worry, as if she already knew what was going to come…

* * *

Phoenixfire: (Pokes YamiPhoenixfire) Hey, she's still out cold. I guess this means that I can do the Reviewer Responses too. Maybe I should knock her unconscious more often… 

Seducer of Darkness: Heh, I did have a feeling that you were a guy, but I just wanted to be positive. I hope you like your part… Aw, crud, now I'm getting nervous. Hey, you! (kicks YamiPhoenixfire) you're taking the blame when you wake up if he's dissatisfied! This was YOUR idea to begin with!

Karina Gomez: Phew. No more dogs. The Baten Kaitos crew will be showing up in two or three chapters… (No, not next chapter. I have some plans… can't have them there to foil them too early…)

blooangel: My dark half would be glad to know that she has fulfilled one of her lifelong goals; making people be afraid of toys. Although you should watch out for the Cabbage Patch Kid dolls that eat the plastic food… one of them tried to eat my finger once. Literally.

Folon rules: Here's your update.

crazygirl306: Glad you liked the last chapter.

Iname as One: Yay! Now I have blackmail! Thank you! Can't answer any of your questions, as they would be direct spoilers. Oh, and if you're going to seal away YamiPhoenixfire, stick her in a shoe box, not a millennium item. She's dangerous enough without direct access to the Shadow Realm.

Luna-Starr: Yup. You're right.

Vanya the Elven Maiden of the Valar: We were always planning on having the Ayme and Folon in Astarael's world be fakes, but the Cabbage Patch Dolls were sort of a last-minute add-in for humor's sake. Because let's face it: Last chapter was a very dark chapter. And next chapter will be a VERY dark chapter. That's all I'm saying for now.


	13. Warnings of Betrayal

Phoenixfire: And what do we do when we finish the chapter? We go straight into the next one!

Selih: Or else…

YamiPhoenixfire: (Wakes up) (to Phoenixfire) Unnh… what the heck happened? I remember asking you something, and then everything went black… (to Selih) And what the heck are you doing here?

Selih: I'm here because I'm sleeping over at Phoenixfire's house. You passed out… something to do with a trip to…

Phoenixfire: NO! Not twice in one day! I need her help to finish this story, so you can't kill her yet.

YamiPhoenixfire: You're hiding something from me… how to get you to spill? I could always use torture… (pulls out anti-good wards)

Phoenixfire: Yes, but if you do that, Iname as One isn't going to give you the escape magnus…

YamiPhoenixfire: Darnit! (puts wards away) Okay, since you used subversive methods to prevent me from writing the last chapter, I get to do this one!

Phoenixfire: Okay, but you have to read the last chapter… Selih, let her borrow the copy I printed out for you.

Selih: Okay, fine. (hands over the paper) And watch your evil version blow up in three, two, one…

YamiPhoenixfire: WHAT THE HELL IS THIS CRAP! AND I HAVE TO MAKE **_SENSE_** OF ALL THIS? I'M GOING TO KILL YOU! NOTHING FRICKIN HAPPENED!  
Phoenixfire: Did you finish?

YamiPhoenixfire: No. (reads the rest) I take it back. You're brilliant. I could kill you for the random conversations, but… you're still brilliant. I can't believe you came up with something so deliciously evil without my help.

Phoenixfire: Let me explain them before I forget. (they kick Selih out of the bedroom and hang up a sign that says 'Spoilers within")

Selih: Drat. And I was going to tell you everything they said… oh well. They still don't own Baten Kaitos or Mountain Dew… such a shame. If they owned Baten Kaitos, I could force them to novelize it, or better yet, make a movie out of it, since I don't play video games…

Chapter Twelve: Warnings of Betrayal (Oh come ON, I told you there was going to be more than one…)

_Kalas groaned. The room he was in was all white, and painstakingly boring. It also reeked of disinfectant. There was a window, but he couldn't even look out of it. He couldn't move. All his attention seemed focused solely on Astarael._

_She was sitting on the bed, propped up by the pillows. She was dressed in some sort of horrible greenish garment. Her skin looked paler than she had when he had last seen her in a dream, and there were huge dark circles under her eyes. She looked haggard._

"_It's so very boring in here. I wish they'd let me out… I'm as well as I'm going to be…" There was a knocking at the door. "Oh, come in. It's not like this door locks from the inside… "_

_Kalas found his attention directed towards the door as it slowly opened. Nothing could have prepared him for who walked in._

_It was… _him_. Himself, but not really himself. For his eyes were no longer glowing blue orbs floating in a sea of black. Nor were his wings white…_

_This wasn't the real him. Not anymore. It wasn't!_

"_Ka… Kalas?" Astarael gasped, looking as if she had been slapped._

"_Hello, Astarael," The dream-Kalas said with a grin that could only be described as evil. "What's wrong? Not happy to see me? I brought you flowers…" he tossed a bouquet of white roses on her bed. "All girls like flowers…"_

"_This… this isn't right…" Astarael muttered, shoving the flowers off the bed. A single tear slid down her face as she continued. "This is a nightmare. Or else I really died this time, and I've been sent to hell. I refuse to believe this."_

"_Oh, that's right, I got something else that belongs to you, too," the dark Kalas said, tossing a whip with pointed metal spike like things sticking out of it at intervals._

"_My weapon! How did you… you didn't…"_

"_Don't worry about those men… they won't be bothering you for a while… well, actually, without some really good help, most of them won't be bothering you _ever again_."_

"_You… you killed them… why…?"_

"_Well, mostly because I could," the dark Kalas said with an evil grin.

* * *

_

"NO!" Kalas gasped, jerking upright. Except it was more like jerking wildly and almost falling, since he'd somehow managed to fall asleep on the White Dragon. He would have fallen off, too, if Xelha hadn't caught him.

"Are you okay?" she asked reflexively.

"Yes, thanks to you," Kalas replied, stifling the hundreds of smart remarks that had popped into his head. This was, so far, the only conversation they'd had since Mintaka that hadn't started with them yelling and screaming at each other. (Which was why everyone else was riding on Lyude's airship, _The Silver Dawn_)

"So, have a bad dream?"

"Nightmare. An awful one." He proceeded to tell her about his dream. She had looked slightly miffed at the part about the flowers, but she didn't say anything about them, for which he was relieved.

"Kalas, that's horrible, but I think it was just a nightmare."

"Are you sure? Everything seemed so real…"

"Well, you've made some mistakes in the past, but you're not the kind of guy who's stupid enough to make them twice. And you've never had any prophetic dreams before, right?"

"I…" For a brief moment, he considered telling her about the other nightmare he'd had… but there was no way he could do that without bringing up Ayme and Folon. Which would lead to talking about their three additional traveling companions, which would lead to yet another fight, and he had never liked fighting with Xelha. "No. It's probably just because I'm worried about Astarael. I'm also worried about you."

"M-me?"

"Yes, you. You've been moody, and sometimes you're sick in the mornings." _And you're gaining weight_, Kalas silently added. He wasn't stupid enough to say that out loud. He'd learned enough about women after living with Xelha to know that only a man with a death wish talked about a woman's weight. "Are you sure you're not sick?"

"I'm not sick. I'll be fine, we've been over this before."

"Okay, okay, I trust you. I just… you'd tell me if there was something wrong, wouldn't you?"

"Of course!" Kalas shot a glance at Xelha… she'd said that just a little too quickly for his liking. But he knew from past experience that he wouldn't get anything else out of her, and that pressing the topic could possibly be physically painful for him.

"So, how much longer do you think it will take us to get to Mira?"

"Well, even though the islands have returned to the Earth Mira is still in the dimensional rift. Because we still have to go through the Trail of Souls we'll probably lose a day to three days." He'd already known the answer of course, he'd just been trying to change the subject. Xelha seemed to understand this and was grateful. _Hah, I _am _getting the hang of living together after all.

* * *

_

Selih looked down on her best friend as the girl writhed in restless sleep. Astarael was clearly having some sort of nightmare, but she had been forbidden by the doctors to wake her. Logically, she knew that the doctors were probably right. Emotionally, however…

_How could strangers know anything about her? Not even her parents know anything, really…_

She could still remember the first day that they had met…

"_Hi, my name is Astarael, but almost everyone calls me Astra. Who're you?"_

"_Se-Selih Adnama," she stuttered. For the girl in front of her had translucent _wings _growing out of her head and back. She could tell that no one else could see them…_

"_Why are you staring at me? Do I have something on my face?"_

"_Your wings are very pretty," she blurted out without thinking._

"_O-okay… you're kidding, right?"_

"_Yeah. Just a joke. Actually, that just sort of slipped out of my mouth from nowhere… I don't even know why I said it. Sorry for acting weird."_

"_That's okay, I do stupid things all the time."_

_But no matter how often she told herself that she was seeing things, those rainbow wings wouldn't go away…_

_

* * *

_

And here was her best friend, pale and sweating, and she couldn't do anything!

"This isn't fair," she muttered.

"I agree. The kid has a habit of attracting bad luck," her brother agreed.

"No! I'm not talking about that… grr! I'm going to the ladies' room. I'll be back."

"What was that all about?" Iname wondered as his younger sister stormed out of the room.

_It's not fair… _Selih thought to herself as she slammed the bathroom door shut behind her. She then faced the mirror. Her reflection now sported a pair of translucent wings each one a different color, a three foot wingspan. Wings that only she could see.

Wings that wouldn't go away, no matter how often she told herself she was seeing things.

_It's not fair, that after everything she has done for me, that I can do nothing for her…_

_

* * *

_

"What is the meaning of this?" Deborah Sanders snarled, and the poor policeman who had been dispatched to question Astarael Sanders quailed. He really wished that Officer Keith had stayed instead of delegating the task to him, but some things couldn't be helped. With that freakish thing in the sky, all the officers had been ordered to return to headquarters to see if they could form any contact with the outside world. "You think you can just _waltz_ in here and take my daughter away? You think I'm going to _let _you do that? She's only seventeen years old, and she's already almost died _twice_! Why can't you people just leave her alone?"

"I… I'm sorry, Ma'am, but I have orders, and…"

"That is enough. If you wish to take my great-granddaughter in for questioning about this phenomenon, then you're wasting your time. She won't wake up for a while yet. Take me instead, and I will tell you what I know."

"Grandmother…!"

"Shush, Deborah. I will be alright. After all, they wouldn't hurt an old, frail woman like me…"

"Are…" God, he didn't want to ask this question, but Keith said that he had to. "Are you, perchance, the Guardian?"

The old woman's eyes narrowed. "Who told you of the Guardians?"

"I… am not at liberty to answer that question."

"Well, then perhaps _I _am not at liberty to answer any of yours!"

"Grandmother, please don't be difficult…"

"What, you mean like you were just being?"

And as the two women argued with the policeman and each other, a somewhat shady young man walked over to the information desk and asked for the location of room 209. He thanked the receptionist, and walked calmly over to the elevator, where he punched the button, waited, and then got into the elevator on the far left. As soon as the doors closed and the elevator started to carry him to the second floor, the middle elevator reached the ground floor, and the entire Adnama family stepped out.

"What's wrong, Selih? You look a little…"

"I just got a sudden chill, that's all Kat."

"Well what's going on around here would be enough to creep anyone out. Do you think it's aliens?" Kat wondered.

"Kat, don't be stupid."

"Well then why don't _you _think up a good explanation, Iname!"

"I…" Iname's eyes took on a somewhat evil glint. "I think it's something from a Magic booster that hasn't been released yet that's somehow come to life!"

"Inaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaame!"

"I was kidding! Just kidding!"

"I think you're both wrong." _I think it's Malpercio and his evil minions… not that anyone is going to believe me! Astarael, please wake up…_

_

* * *

_

Astarael had finally woken up. She had seen only a nurse who had forbidden her from leaving bed, even though she felt just fine.

_I don't really blame her. It's kind of hard to believe that I could recover from those injuries in a little over twenty-four hours…_

The room was deathly boring, all white and sterilized and dull. The only thing in the room was a clock, which seemed to go slower every time she glanced at it. Now it was 8:45pm. _God, I'm going to be in here forever!_

"It's so very boring in here… I wish they'd let me out. I'm as well as I'm going to be…" she sighed. Just then, she was distracted from the tedium by a knock on the door.

_Thank you, thank you God! I finally have someone else to talk to!_

"Oh, come in. It's not like the door locks from the inside…"

Time seemed to come almost to a halt at that moment. The door creaked open in agonizing slowness, and Astarael was seized by an incredible feeling of foreboding. And when the door opened, and her visitor walked in…

_No…_

Blue hair, like hers.

_No…_

The familiar light armor, the brown cape…

_No…_

The blue eyes, wreathed in an inky and endless blackness. Majestic and beautiful white wings.

_NO!_

"Ka…Kalas?" she gasped involuntarily.

"Hello… Astarael," the dark Kalas said with a wicked grin.

* * *

Phoenixfire: Yes, a cliffhanger. Shoot us.

Okay, if ANYONE couldn't figure out what was wrong with Xelha… what happens when you're young, stupid, in love, and have never attended health class?

YamiPhoenixfire: Oh, and for everyone who guessed who Old Lady Corietta is… YOU WERE ALL WRONG! She's Astarael's GREAT-grandmother. MWAHAHAHAHA!

Oh, and another note. We were going to wait a couple of days to post this, but Selih is still here, and she said that we should be nice and give this to you now. So everyone bow down and worship her! (Iname as One is exempt due to family relations)

Phoenixfire: Since we kinda posted the last chapter at midnight last night, most of you haven't had time to review. We will respond to those who did, however.

Karina Gomez: Heh… I hope you enjoy the reason for our delaying the Baten Kaitos crew yet again. I came up for the idea for this in chapter eight or so, and haven't been able to use it until now! Please don't sick Death Destruction on me…

blooangel: I totally agree. Computers are out to get us. Oh well… where would we be without them? (YamiPhoenixfire: Still doing our health homework…)

LighteningRae: I've made stupid mistakes. When I was in sixth grade, I thought "Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time' was pronounced "Legend of Zelda: _Orcianna_ of Time' (YamiPhoenixfire: Everyone feel free to laugh at her. I do.) (Phoenixfire: Shut up, you…)(Shoves YamiPhoenixfire in the closet)


	14. Broken Lullabies

Phoenixfire: Wheeeeeeeeeee! (Rolls by on office chair. Y'know, the type that has wheels? Those things are neat…)

YamiPhoenixfire: Oh God, not again. SELIH! What did you feed her!

Selih: Nothing! Well… she had Cinnamon Toast Crunch for breakfast…

YamiPhoenixfire: You fool! That stuff is almost pure sugar! …Damn, now I'm going to have to write the next chapter all by myself. (Turns on Selih) You! Since you have deprived me of my slave, do the disclaimer!

Selih: Excuse me? I take orders from no one.

YamiPhoenixfire: Do it or… or… I'll get your brother to teach Phoenixfire how to play Magic!

Selih: Iname wouldn't do that… He knows I'd murder him in his sleep if he did…

YamiPhoenixfire: …I sense that we have a lot in common.

Selih: …Okay, I'll do the disclaimer. Baten Kaitos, Magic (from the last two chapters), and Mountain Dew belong to the people that actually own them. Now, any ideas how to snap her out of it? (Points at Phoenixfire)

YamiPhoenixfire: Chloroform. Could you look for some while I write the next chapter?

Selih: Okay…

Phoenixfire: Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Chapter Thirteen: Broken Lullabies

"Gah… what the hell?" Kalas moaned. His magnus deck was glowing. It only lasted for a second or two, and then it subsided.

"We need to check it now," Xelha pointed out.

"I know, I know… I just have a really bad feeling about this…" He pulled the first card. The background was black with swirls of poisonous green. And, in a glowing crimson at the bottom of the card…

_Spirit Card: Shattered Requiem_

_

* * *

_

"What's wrong?" he asked, sounding almost… _playful_. "Not happy to see me? I brought you flowers…" he tossed a bouquet of white roses on her bed. "All girls like flowers…"

"This… this isn't right…" Astarael muttered, shoving the flowers off the bed. A single tear slid down her face as she continued. "This is a nightmare. Or else I really died this time, and I've been sent to hell. I refuse to believe this."

"Oh, that's right, I got something else that belongs to you, too," the dark Kalas said, tossing Briar Rose on her bed and ignoring what she had just said.

"My weapon! How did you… you didn't…"

"Don't worry about those men… they won't be bothering you for a while… well, actually, without some really good help, most of them won't be bothering you _ever again_."

"You… you killed them… why…?"

"Well, mostly because I could," the dark Kalas said with an evil grin.

"You…you… you _jerk_! I can't believe you're doing this to me _again_! And why the flowers? Why must you mock me?" she screamed, tears now rolling freely down her face.

"_With the power of Malpercio, I no longer need you! Go back to your own world, Astarael!"_

"Astarael…"

"You have what you want!" she shouted at him. "And I am currently lacking the strength to stop you! Go, do what you will, and leave me be! You don't _need _me anymore, remember? I was never anything to you but a tool, a means to an end, was I? I thought you had changed, Kalas! I thought you had turned your back on the darkness forever! And now you… you…!"

"Please, stop crying, Astra. I… I made a mistake, okay? I need you. I never should have left you. Please, come with me. We can be happy together."

"Toge… together?" she asked in a stunned whisper. He wanted _her_? Not Xelha?

_Don't say it… please don't, I don't think I have the strength to say no…_

"I love you, Astarael."

"I…!" she gasped, lost for words.

"Come with me," he repeated holding out a hand. "This is what you've always wanted, right?"

"I… yes!" she cried, a smile breaking through her tears. She reached out to grab his hand…

_Wait._

"What's wrong? Why do you hesitate?"

_Please stop crying _**Astra?** _And since when did _any _version of Kalas do something as nice as bring flowers, roses no less?_

"You… you're not real. You're not the real Kalas."

It was all an illusion, a prank, a cruel joke meant to break her spirit. And it was working perfectly.

She knew it wasn't real, but oh, how she still wanted it…!

His expression faltered for a moment, then turned dark. "Tell me, what gave me away?"

"First of all… Kalas just isn't considerate enough to do something as nice as bring flowers," Astarael said, trying to sound as if her heart wasn't breaking. "Secondly, the real Kalas _never _called me Astra. He thought it was an ugly name. He only called me Astarael. Third…" _The real Kalas was never interested in me romantically. I was only a friend, nothing more. _"Well, that's my secret." She snatched up her weapon and sprang to her feet. "This, by the way, is the part where I kill you for throwing me back into my own worst nightmare."

"I'm afraid you're overestimating your skills, _Astra_." 'Kalas' sneered, drawing his swords. Then, seemingly impossibly fast, he lunged forward, the longsword coming down in a cleaving strike that would slice her in two while his shortsword was aimed at slitting her throat. Knowing that there was nothing she could do to block the attack, she did the only thing that made sense.

For the second time in two days, Astarael threw herself out of a window.

* * *

Kyle was driving to the hospital… he felt a sudden and bizarre urge to go and apologize to that girl, Astarael, for putting those two tapes on the internet without her permission. _…This is so stupid. Why am I so sure that she'll be awake? I should be… I don't know, running off to the supermarket to buy food supplies and barricading myself in my basement. That's what a sensible person would do, because clearly the world is ending._

And, just as he pulled into the hospital parking lot, he saw a blue-haired girl jump out of a window on the second floor. She was followed momentarily by a blue-haired man with white wings.

Kyle brought the car to an abrupt halt and pulled out his video camera. _I love it when I'm right…_

_

* * *

_

_What the hell is wrong with the sky? _Astarael wondered as she tried to put some distance between herself and the false Kalas. _It looks like the inside of the shield of Cor Hydrae…_

"**Fangs of Darkness!"** shouted 'Kalas', and suddenly he was flying straight at her from below. She banished her wings and let herself fall below his attack. She then summoned them again and started to chant… **"I am the Light, Hear my voice! Guardian Spell: Shining Seraphim!"** And a ball of light slammed into 'Kalas', throwing him to the ground. She blinked away the afterglare of the spell and started flying at the spot where 'Kalas' had gone down. She had the advantage now, and was going to press it all she could.

She struck with her whip, and it wrapped itself around Kalas's left arm. She threw him…

….and he slammed hard into someone's beat-up four-seater car. _Oh, crap! I hope whoever owned that car had insurance!_

_Wait, why am I thinking about that _now? _Oh no, he's getting up again…_

_

* * *

_

Kyle sighed as he looked at the ruin of his car. _This is probably some sort of cosmic judgment. Although, I can tell my parents that it definitely wasn't my fault this time, as I wasn't in the car and can't help it if someone got _thrown _at it… and I have the footage to prove it. Thank God I had the foresight to get out of the car…_

_

* * *

_

"You're going to pay for that!" 'Kalas' snapped. His left arm was now hanging uselessly at his side, as her whip had cut all the tendons. However, the impact with the ground and the car didn't seem to have affected him too badly. Where he should be unconscious, he was only slightly winded. _Damn! I don't know how long I can continue to fight! I'm still recovering from the fight with the Cabbage Patch Dolls from hell!_

And suddenly Kalas was in her face, again. She ducked a series of lightning fast attacks by mere centimeters every time, and the quarters were really too close for her to use her whip effectively.

_Oh… for the love of…! _So, when next she got an opening, she punched him in the stomach, knocking him back several paces. She followed up with another crack of the whip, and this time she got lucky. It wrapped snugly around his neck.

_There. _All she had to do was pull, and his neck would be a shredded, bleeding mess. All she had to do was pull…

_I'm hesitating. Why the hell am I hesitating? He only looks like Kalas! That isn't the real Kalas! And this might be the only chance I get to finish him!_

"You can't do it… can you?" he asked her softly. She looked at his face, into his eyes…

Big mistake. As soon as she made eye contact she felt her resolve dwindle into nothing. Yes, it wasn't the real Kalas, but it was a damn convincing illusion. Besides, didn't she have the right to be happy? Why should she care about everyone else? They hadn't ever given a damn about her! Why should she step aside and let other people experience the happiness that belonged to her? Why did she keep on doing good things, despite the fact that her heart and soul felt like they were going to break?

_Because, in the end, who cares…?_

_NO! I am not going to give into this… this bastard! He stole the face of the one that I love, and I won't forgive him!_

"**I am the Wind, Dispeller of Time! Guardian Spell: Distorting Wi-"**

'Kalas' quickly closed the distance between them and delivered an impossibly high kick that connected solidly with her jaw, knocking the whip out of her grasp and sending her flying. She hit a tree and fell face-first into the grass. Before she could recover, she was picked up and thrown back onto the pavement, skidding painfully on her back.

The last thing she saw before she blacked out was the false reflection of Kalas stalking up to her as he disentangled the whip from his neck, smiling demonically. _Kalas… forgive me, Kalas…

* * *

_

_Finally, she goes down, _he thought as he finished removing her annoying weapon from his neck. He cast it aside like the piece of trash it was as he continued to advance on Astra. _Even with no formal training, she still fights well. When she got that thing around my neck, I thought I was finished…_

She was still beautiful, even with the bruise that was forming on her jaw and dressed in that horrible hospital gown.

Wait… hospital gown…

_I wonder if she's wearing anything underneath it? _he thought to himself and his evil smirk widened.

"Get away from her!"

_Wham!_

'Kalas' found himself knocked to the ground. When he sat up to locate his assailant, he saw a wiry teenage boy with a camera in one hand and a baseball bat in the other.

"You're incredibly stupid. You do know that, right?" he asked, rubbing his abused skull. Normally, the blow wouldn't have hurt him, but Astra's Shining Seraphim spell had thrown him into the ground… headfirst. The combination of the two blows was enough to give even him a headache.

"Look, I might be a bit of an ass, but I'd have to be an even bigger ass to let you take advantage of an unconscious girl."

"Nice last words… I'll make sure they get put on your grave…" 'Kalas' sneered, getting ready to attack, when…

"Jerk! Stay the hell away from my big sister!" shrieked a high-pitched voice. Before he could react, he had been tackled by some kid with brown hair. Normally such a weak attack would have done absolutely nothing to him, but the lucky brat managed to hit him in the back of the knees. The result being that he folded like a card table with three legs. And the little hellion was up faster than he would have believed possible, and managed to kick him in the most sensitive part of the male anatomy.

"Arrg!" he bellowed in pain. _I am not going to lose to some video club nerd and a sixth grader!_ "You _bitch!_" He made a sweeping gesture and a tentacle of dark energy swept the kid off her feet, throwing her into the car that her sister had thrown _him _into earlier. _Revenge is sweet…_

"What is it with people throwing other people into my ride today?" the guy muttered.

"Oh, your car? I'll destroy… finish destroying… that car once I'm done killing you slowly," 'Kalas' said as he picked himself up and recovered his sword. His left arm had healed somewhat, and was now useable again. _I'll find my shortsword later…_

"**I am the Light, Dispeller of Darkness!"**

"**I am the Water, Dispeller of Fire!"**

_Shit. _An old woman and a middle-aged one were advancing on him. Both were sporting the same type of wings as his Astra, except the old woman's were all white. He took to the air and tried to get away…

"**Guardian Spell: Shining Seraphim!"**

"**Guardian Spell: Sacred Spring!"**

But was hit by both spells simultaneously, and went down, hard and in a fair amount of pain.

_Oh, and now it's old women? Malpercio, fighting Astra was sexy, but fighting these losers is just boring…_

"I don't have time for old ladies! **Binding Winds!"** And both were struck by the vortex, and temporarily immoblilzed.

"**I am… the Darkness… Dispeller… of Light…!"**

"Oh for the love of all things evil! Who's casting Guardian Spells now?" he moaned, whirling around. Frozen old women, confused looking video kid, unconscious Astra, pissed off kid sister of Astra…

Wait. Pissed of kid sister of…

_Oh, shi…_

"**Guardian Spell!" **she cried as wings erupted from her body. **"DEMONS OF DARKNESS!"**

"Aaaargh!" 'Kalas' cried as he was enveloped by the dark energies. Why did they hurt so much…?

As he was released, the kid collapsed, her wings vanishing with a dull flash. "Heh, she put all her energy in that one spell… idiot." Much as he longed to stay and finish her off, he knew the effects of Binding Winds weren't going to last forever, and he didn't feel up to fighting two Guardians at once at the moment. So he flew off. After all, it wasn't like any of them could run very far…

* * *

Phoenixfire: And the end of another chapter. Wow, you're getting updates left and right. Isn't insomnia fun?

Selih: Hey, I got the chloroform… (stares at Phoenixfire) Since when did you go back to normal?

Phoenixfire: Since about five minutes ago.

Selih: (sighs) Whatever… I have to go home and finish my homework.

YamiPhoenixfire: (snickers) It's your own fault for taking all Honors and AP classes…

Phoenixfire: (smacks YamiPhoenixfire over the head) Be nice. Bye, Selih!

Selih: See you on Sunday. (Gives Phoenixfire a hug and leaves)

YamiPhoenixfire: Okay, slave, do the reviewer responses!

Phoenixfire: (sighs) Is it a sign of insanity when your alternate personalities start to boss you around?

**Reviews for Chapter Twelve** (That I didn't get before posting the last chapter)

crazygirl306: Heheh… glad you liked that conversation. Expect to see a lot more like it in the future, since I'm sorta pissed at my mom right now… (grumbling) Threaten to disconnect my computer… I'll show you…

**Reviews for Chapter Thirteen**

Iname as One: Yes… A lot did happen in the last two chapters. Mostly because they were written between 11pm-4am. Except now I have to DEAL with everything that happened… hopefully, I'm not moving so fast that I can't keep up with myself. (YamiPhoenixfire: If you ask me, it's about time the good stuff started happening.)(Phoenixfire: Yeah, yeah…)

Oh, and in other notes… yay! Two chapters free of anti-good ward-related torture! (YamiPhoenixfire: I _can _be good if it gets me what I want. Oh, and to the Death Aspect, I've sent you some of my anti-good wards via familiar (a black phoenix in my case) and they should be arriving shortly. Have fun!)

And yes, Xelha is pregnant. And YES, Kalas is the father. Hmm... green haired baby… I didn't think of it that way… oooh, ideas… (YamiPhoenixfire: Hah! Selih owes me money… she was sure you'd be pissed off about the pregnancy bit…)(Phoenixfire: Um, Yami? I don't think that you remembered to specify an amount… and she didn't accept… meaning that the bet is null)(YamiPhoenixfire: DAMNIT!)

LighteningRae: (Gets shot in the heart and dies)(Both Phoenixfire and YamiPhoenixfire burst into flame and rise from their own ashes) Ow… that was NOT fun… but I sort of set myself up for it. (YamiPhoenixfire: Hey! You're lucky we're immortal, or you might never have found out how the story ends!)(Phoenixfire: No threatening the reviewers.)(YamiPhoenixfire: Not even when they threaten us?)(Phoenixfire: Not even when they threaten us.)(Throws YamiPhoenixfire in the closet)

Luna-Starr: Yup… Xelha's pregnant. God, I hope I didn't lose any reviewers with that little plot twist…

Karina Gomez: I always love to surprise my readers… (smiles) However, sorry DM, I don't think that you're going to be getting your wards since YamiPhoenixfire is currently in solitary confinement… (A black phoenix appears in the closet)(YamiPhoenixfire: You done? Good. Now take these to DM…)(Hands phoenix more anti-good wards)(phoenix disappears again in a burst of purple flame)(YamiPhoenixfire: That idiot. I may not be able to read, but I can still hear everything that she says…)

blooangel: Here's your update… yeah, I'm kinda… allergic to homework myself.

Vanya the Elven Maiden of the Valar: Here's your update!

* * *

Phoenixfire: Waah!

YamiPhoenixfire: (from inside the closet) What's wrong now?

Phoenixfire: Seducer of Darkness didn't review… I bet he hates me… (cries)

YamiPhoenixfire: That's IT? God, it's only been a day since that massive update… he probably hasn't found it yet. Besides, his character actually does cool things in this chapter… he'll forgive you.

Phoenixfire: (sniff) Really?

YamiPhoenixfire: (sigh) Yes. God, I can't believe you're almost seventeen. You act like you're five…


	15. Bonds of Blood

Phoenixfire: Okay, before I start with the usual antics, I want you all to be serious. Your response to the following is going to determine the ending of this story. Your task is simple…

You must vote for your favorite paring.

YamiPhoenixfire: Cheating (voting twice under an unsigned screename) is recommended.

Phoenixfire: No it is not!

YamiPhoenixfire: And how are you going to be able to tell?

Phoenixfire: …I'll use MY familiar to spy on them. (A white phoenix appears) But please… really keep it fair. All these votes will be taken seriously. Just know that the opinions of Iname as One and Selih are going to have a lot of weight… they know where I live. The rest of you don't.

The potential pairings are:

One: **KalasxXelha**. I already have this. It works. Xelha is pregnant… It would be very easy for me to keep this just the way it is.

Two: **AstaraelxKalas**. I'm going to warn you… if you REALLY want this paring, I'm going to have to kill off Xelha. Seriously, I've backed myself into a corner where that is the only way I can see this paring working. Keep that in mind when you vote.

Three: …Yami, we are not doing this paring.

YamiPhoenixfire: Why not? I like it.

Phoenixfire: You would… okay, pairing number three is **KalasxXelhaxAstarael**. (rubs temples) I have a very strong suspicion that this paring was spawned by the unholy combination of Yellow 5 and shoujo manga. (YamiPhoenixfire: No way! It was Diet Pepsi, not Mountain Dew!)(Phoenixfire: Oh, crap! You're allergic to something in that stuff!) I'd need a big, BIG show of support to do this. (Why do I get the feeling that this paring would be the equivalent of trying to please everyone but pleasing no one?)

Four:… No, this is not pairing number four. Yami, if you mess with the pairings sheet anymore I will kill you!

YamiPhoenixfire: But… that was my favorite one!

Phoenixfire: Hmm… I don't see why… (Crosses out 'YamiPhoenixfirexKalas')

Real Number Four: **Other**. Write in a pairing, and I will take it into consideration, especially if it is a Lyude paring. Yaoi pairings will not be accepted because I have never attempted them before, and do not want to mess this story up trying. Neither will yuri. (Don't know if anyone reading this likes those pairings… I just feel the need to specify beforehand)

Also, if there is anyone you want killed off (Astarael's mom and the dark Kalas are already on my hit list) tell me. I will take them into consideration.

Okay. Enough preamble. Because now I can finally write…

Chapter Fourteen: Bonds of Blood

"Astarael Victoria Sanders, you are in _big _trouble, young lady!"

"Mom, you do realize that you start one out of ten of the conversations that we have with exactly the same words. The other nine are started, 'Astra, I'm _very_ disappointed in you,'" Astarael sighed as she sat up. _Ouch, do I have a concussion? No worries, it'll heal. Everything does…_

"Now that is just untrue," Deborah Sanders protested.

"Okay, name one compliment you've given to me since the week started."

"…"

"Just one. I'm not greedy. One compliment. Surely you've said _something_ nice to me in the last five days…"

"We don't have time to talk about trivial things like that. We have a crisis!" the middle-aged woman cried, gesturing to the now green sky.

"And changing the subject again… you always do that when I have a valid point…" Astarael looked up. The sky was still green. _Damn. I had hoped that I had dreamed that part… It's like being inside the shield that surrounded Cor Hydrae, the ancient stronghold of the gods…_

And, of course, as soon as that thought popped into her head, she spotted a familiar-looking fortress floating several miles away. "Okay. Great. You know what? I give up. Kill me now. We are so screwed…"

"Do you know what that is?" asked an old woman who looked vaguely familiar to Astarael. Where had she met that woman before…?

"_Oooh, pretty dolly! Thank you, thank you!"_

"Great grandma?" Astarael asked.

"So, you do remember me. You were only three the last time I saw you, it was your third birthday as a matter of fact… you've grown up a lot… but there are more pressing things at hand than old ties. So, do you know what that floating monstrosity is?"

"Cor Hydrae," Astarael replied, deciding on the split moment to tell the truth. "Last stronghold of the ancient gods of another world, headquarters of the dead god Malpercio, home of lots of powerful monsters. However, I'm pretty sure I remember that place getting destroyed and sent back to whatever null dimension it was banished to by the Children of the Earth in ancient times. Now, I have a few questions for you. First of all, how long have I been lying on the pavement? Secondly, where did that bastard with the white Wings of the Heart go?"

"Your first answer is five minutes, Your second answer is to the northwest, presumably to that fortress. Now, there are some more things that we have to talk about…"

"Is there a change of clothing in my hospital room?"

"Well… yes, but…"

"Thanks." She spread her wings and jumped into the air. As she flew in the direction of her room, she noticed some people carrying her youngest sister, Rana, into the hospital on a stretcher… _That… that bastard! How _**dare**_ he bring my little sister into this?_

_One more reason to kill that false Kalas slowly. Can I kill him, though?_

_Oh well, I'm just going to have to find out._

What she had to do was simple: Go to Cor Hydrae, and kill the people in charge. If she could kill the person who was housing Malpercio's taint, she might be able to send Cor Hydrae back to the null dimension. If the monsters that lived within the fortress were unleashed on the citizenry, her hometown and the surrounding area would be ashes in less than a day. The police _(what's left… I know that the false Kalas killed some of them already)_ weren't equipped to handle an army of Malpercio's minions.

She climbed somewhat clumsily into her room and scrounged around for the spare set of clothes. Sure enough, they were in a bag under her bed: a nondescript pair of jeans and one of the ugliest shirts she owned. Clearly her father had picked out her clothing. _Oh well, no point in wearing and ruining another nice shirt._

Astarael pulled down the blinds of the broken window and started to change. She winced as she pulled off the gown (she was going to have the mother of all brush burns on her back) and contemplated her task. She hated to admit it, but 'storm into Cor Hydrae and beat things up', although appealing, was akin to suicide. If only there was some way to draw the false Kalas and his master out…

"Ouch!" she hissed as she stepped on something sharp. It was the stem of one of the roses that the false Kalas had brought her. She itched to set them on fire, but hesitated as she noticed a card attached to it. Almost against her will, she picked it up and read it…

_Hope you get well soon! Love, Rob._

In the corner of the card was a small droplet of reddish-brown. Dried blood.

_What…? Did he kill…_

_Hmm, he strikes me as the possessive type, so maybe he did. No, wait, he allegedly killed whoever was holding my whip, so I'd say _yes, _he definitely did._

Instead of feeling guilty at the thought, all she could really feel was a vague relief. She had never really liked Rob, and now he was no longer around to annoy her and try to sneak up and hug her and the thousands of other vexing things that he did…

_I should feel guilty. Really, I should. This was my fault, in a way. Why don't I feel guilty?_

"Can I come in?" someone asked from outside the door.

"Y'know, I've had some really bad experiences with people wanting to talk to me lately… but how could things get any worse? Come on in."

In came a kid she had seen only in passing. He sat three rows behind her in biology. His name was… Kent? No, Kyle. She also seemed to remember him carrying around that camera of his all the time.

"You're… Astra Sanders, right?"

"Astarael. I never want to hear the name Astra again," she sighed with a slight shudder. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"I happened to catch some footage of your fight yesterday. There was something that you would find most interesting."

"I'm busy. I have a 'date' with someone in that floating castle. And by 'date', I mean that I'm going to beat him to a pulp. And whoever summoned that monstrosity here." She wasn't sure if she meant Cor Hydrae or the dark Kalas at the moment. Probably both.

"Wait! Before you do that, there's something that you need to see," Kyle said, pulling out his laptop. He started it up and started clicking things while Astarael tapped her foot impatiently. "Yes, finally brought it up! Here, take a look at this."

What she saw was what looked like a PowerPoint slide. On one side of the dark red expanse was a small picture of a woman with six _black _wings, and a close-up of the woman's face. On the other side, for the sake of comparison…

…was a blown-up version of Azil's shiny white sophomore ID badge. And there was no doubt about the identity of the black-winged woman. After all, even without the ID photo, how could she not recognize her own sister?

"Is this… are all these pictures real? If you made these up on your computer, I'm going to…"

"Before you finish that death threat, I assure you that these pictures are all very real."

"Would you stake your life on that?" Astarael asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Yes," Kyle replied.

"Excellent," Astarael said, smiling prettily. "Because you just did."

And with that happy little statement, she jumped out the window and started flying at Cor Hydrae. _This is the third time I jumped out of a window in two days. Is this some sort of bizarre fetish of mine?_

_I don't think so. The first time I jumped out of a window it was to save someone else's life. The second time it was to save mine… the false Kalas would have killed me in such a tight space. This time, I was… well, if I just walked out, the doctors or someone would have tried to stop me…_

"…**Shining Seraphim!"**

…and suddenly she was careening at the ground. She hit the grass with a dull thud. The last thing she heard before blacking out was her mother saying, "Must you be so violent?"

* * *

"I'd forgotten how boring the Trail of Souls is. Any ideas on how to pass the time?" Kalas asked Xelha. 

"I guess we could… sing a song or something."

"…Ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall, ninety-nine bottles of beer! Take one down, pass it around, ninety eight bottles of beer on the wall! Ninety-eight bottles of beer on the wall, ninety-eight bottles of beer! Take one down, pass it around…"

"Who taught you this incredibly annoying song?"

"Astarael. Ninety-seven bottles of beer on the wall!"

"Me and my big mouth…"

Phoenixfire: GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! (Bangs head repeatedly against the wall)

YamiPhoenixfire: This temper tantrum was brought to you by Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones.

Phoenixfire: It's not fair! (Whack!) I finally get enough money (Whack!) to buy the damn game (Whack!) and everywhere that's near my house (Whack!) is sold out! (Whack! Whack! Whack!)

YamiPhoenixfire: I guess you'll just have to go back to trying to unlock Chapter 19xx again. (whisper) Fire Emblem junkie

Phoenixfire: All those who mock my agony shall be punished most painfully. (Brandishes anti-evil wards)

YamiPhoenixfire: (thinking) Cannot retaliate… Escape Magnus. Cannot retaliate… Escape Magnus…

**Reviewer Responses**

crazygirl306: Yep... I'm just going to tell you now, in this story, Guardian magic is heriditary. And yes, parents can be annoying.

lighteningrae: Hmm, that is a good question... _is _Astarael hooked on jumping out of windows? I really don't think so... she did have good reasons every time she did it... And yes, fake Kalas is perverted.

Karina Gomez: Oh, you think you hate the fake Kalas NOW... he hee hee... (YamiPhoenixfire: Cool, I'm being worshiped!)(Phoenixfire: I'm doing the responses. Be quiet.) Don't worry, I have plans for him. Slow torture by Ocean Mirror... fun...

Luna-Starr: I'm glad you liked the fight scenes... they're sorta hard for me to write, and it's good to know that people like them.

Iname as One: I'm going to use my imagination and assume you meant that you _didn't_ like waiting. Let us all go on a kill QuickEdit spree. Whee! And yes... lots of Guardians! And Lots of Phoenixfire on Pepsi! (Why is this a bad thing? Go ask Selih.)

Vanya the Elven Maiden of the Valar: Oo... I guess I know what you're going to vote for the pairings...

Phoenixfire: BTW, if anything is screwed up in the Reviewer Response section, blame QuickEdit. It mashes my words together and has no spellcheck.

YamiPhoenixfire: Can I kill it?

Phoenixfire: Find a way to do so without hampering my ability to post stories and I'll say yes. Oh, and I just got a job as a bus girl at a local playhouse, so I might not be posting as often.

YamiPhoenixfire: And if she gets her beloved Fire Emblem game, she might abandon writing for a few weeks.

Phoenixfire: WOULD NOT!

YamiPhoenixfire: ...liar...


	16. Darkened Hearts

YamiPhoenixfire: Umm... Shouldn't you be updating?

Phoenixfire: Why? (continues to play Fire Emblem)

YamiPhoenixfire: Because if you don't, I'll tell your mom that...

Phoenixfire: Don't you dare even finish that sentence. (Cue anime-style aura of rage)

YamiPhoenixfire: (backs away slowly) Oookay… Hey, don't you need to tell them what the results of your poll was?

Phoenixfire: …what does this have to do with Fire Emblem?

YamiPhoenixfire: …you and your one track mind. Fine. I'll tell them

AstaraelxKalas – 4

KalasxXelha – 3

Of course… haven't talked to Selih in a while, but even if she does want KalasxXelha that will make things a tie. In which case… nothing will change, because we're going with the results we have now. Sorry, Selih… Personally, I choose to blame the fact that you're not coming to choir anymore…

Phoenixfire: In this chapter we do not own: Baten Kaitos, Mountain Dew, Evanescence, or the Presbetaryan Hymnal. (The very last song I use in this chapter is… Hymn 210, verse 4 if I recall correctly.) Now, chapter, chapter, must write chapter... damn.

Chapter Fifteen: Darkened Hearts

When Astarael woke up, she was shocked to find that she wasn't hurt. No, all that was wrong with her were the ropes that sorely restricted her movement. "What the hell is going on here?" she grunted, trying to move, succeeding only in squirming on the car seat.

"You, young lady, are going home with me," her mother said irritably. "And now, I am going to explain the consequences of your actions."

"Which ones?" Astarael asked, feeling the need to needle her mother for some reason. Hmm… perhaps it had something to do with the fact that she was currently trussed up in the back of the car?

"You can't just go waltzing out and challenging that young man again! He would have killed you if the rest of us hadn't been there to stop him!"

"And he would have killed _you _if he had chosen to stay! False reflection or not, he still has the powers of the Dark… he is not one to be trifled with," Astarael sighed. "Now untie me. Or I'll free myself."

"…Reflection? Astra, have you _met_ this young man before?"

"...I did warn you. Hellfire," she spat, and the ropes burst into flames. She shrugged off the ashes.

"…the old bat was right. You have had contact with the Kaiten realm," Deborah Sanders sighed. "Your wounds heal too quickly. You can call upon your magic without using a full incantation. You managed to teach yourself the art of warding magic… which I am not amused by, Astra. You could have gotten yourself killed."

"Wouldn't have been the first time," Astarael muttered darkly under her breath.

"This is no time to be sarcastic! I don't think you understand the danger your actions have put you in!"

"Oh, I do understand. I'm finding myself wishing that I'd let Azil get run over by that damn car. Would have saved everyone a lot of trouble… come to think of it, this whole mess started because Azil was too stupid to look both ways before crossing the street."

"Leave your sister out of this," Deborah growled.

"You do realize that as soon as you stop the car, I'm going to jump out and fly away to confront the evil ones, and that you're too weak to stop me, yes?"

"You don't…"

"No, _you're _the one who doesn't understand! If I don't do something, we're all going to die!" Astarael cried passionately. "Don't you care about everyone else? Mother, this isn't about you and me anymore! This is about thousands of people! I might be able to save them!"

"…You truly are a Guardian." She stopped the car and put it in park, so Astarael could open the side door. "Go, and save as many as you can. You are no longer a child… and I'd rather not have you try to exit the car by force…" Astarael was twenty feet in the air by the time she had finished her sentence. Deborah sighed, got out of the car, and pulled the back door shut before getting in her car and driving homewards again.

* * *

Rana was unhappy.

Rana was very unhappy.

For the last four days, her eldest sister, Astarael, had been running around doing all sorts of important things, like putting protective wards on the house, the hospital, and a few other important buildings. Every time she came home, she got into a fight with either Mother (nothing new…) or Great-Grandma (since when did they even _have _a great grandma anyway?) After every one of those fights, Astarael would storm off into her room in a blazing fury, lock the door, and blast her Evanescence CD at maximum volume. The way she did this was strange. She would always play the whole CD through once, and then repeat a certain song three times.

_I'm so tired of being here,_

_Suppressed by all my childish fears._

_And if you have to leave,_

_I wish that you would just leave._

'_Cause your presence still lingers here,_

_And it won't leave me alone._

_These wounds won't seem to heal_

_This pain is just too real_

_There's just too much that time cannot erase_

_You'd cry I'd wipe away all of your tears_

_You'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears_

_I held your hand through all of these years_

_You still have_

_All of me_

_You used to captivate me_

_By your resonating light_

_But now I'm bound by the life you left behind_

_Your face it haunts my once pleasant dreams_

_Your voice it chased away all the sanity in me_

_These wounds won't seem to heal_

_This pain is just too real_

_There's just too much that time cannot erase…_

And so on, and so forth. Rana knew a hint when she heard one. Astarael was trying to tell everyone something, even though Mother and Father told her that she was just being silly, that the song was probably just Astarael's new favorite. But Rana knew that wasn't true… Astarael's favorite song was the one where the girl kept saying 'hello' over and over again.

Even more disturbing was the way Astarael now reacted to her old nickname. Every time someone called her 'Astra' now, she'd blow up in their faces. It was strange. She knew that the blue-haired boy who'd beaten up her sister that first day she got out of the hospital was somehow responsible.

That, and there was also Azil. Azil hadn't come home in four days… Rana was really scared. Even thought she didn't get along with Azil as well as she did with Astarael, Azil was still important to her. _Maybe she got lucky and she's on the outside… somehow._

Rana doubted it, though.

"Hey, Rana," Astarael said as she plopped down on the couch. It was the fifth day since she had fought the white-winged boy. She looked haggard, weary, and frustrated. Every time she got close to the castle where (According to her) the boy was hiding, she got swarmed by monsters and driven away. Luckily, the monsters seemed to be content to simply guard the castle, they hadn't bothered to attack yet. The boy would venture forth from time to time, strike some unprotected place, and disappear before Astarael could come and destroy him. "Where's everyone else?"

"Out looking for you," Rana replied. "Want me to make you a sandwich?"

"No thanks," Astarael sighed. "Not hungry."

"Come on, you really need to eat something. If you don't take care of your body…"

"Rana. Who's the big sister here?" Astarael asked with a crooked grin.

"I… you're making fun of me!" Rana cried. Whenever she tried to give her big sisters advice, they would always bristle up and accuse her of 'patronizing' them. Whatever 'patronizing' meant, anyway…

"No, I'm not. In fact… I'm actually happy," Astarael replied. "No mater how crazy everyone gets, no matter how Mom and everyone else treat me, I can always count on you to be… you, Rana."

"I… don't know if I'm being complimented or insulted," Rana said, but was pleased nonetheless.

"Heh… Before Mom and everyone else comes home, I need to do a couple of things. First of all… I have a present for you." She pulled something out of her pocket and handed it to Rana, who took it. When she actually looked at it…

She couldn't help but gasp. Hanging from a piece of black ribbon was half of Astarael's favorite necklace.

"For me?" Rana asked, still surprised.

"Of course, silly. It's good luck. It'll protect you. Now, I'm going to tell you a story. It's an important story, so I want you to listen. Can you do that?"

"Sure! I mean, with school canceled and no TV or electricity, what else am I going to do?" Rana replied, sitting down next to her older sister.

"Okay. Once upon a time, there was an evil god…"

* * *

Selih looked up from her book as she heard someone hit the house's deck rather violently. A moment later, she heard her best friend's voice raise in a string of curses and couldn't help but grin.

"Tired?" she asked, poking her head outside. Astarael was dusting herself off irritably, but looked more or less unhurt.

"Hell yes. Do you have any soda?"

"Actually, we do. I think Iname knew you'd be coming." Selih fished a can of Mountain Dew code red out of the fridge and handed it to Astarael who looked at it dubiously.

"What? No lecture about how I'm ruining my health and rotting my brain?"

"Um… hello? I'm not Alys. You're old enough to do whatever you want. So, why did you drop by?"

"I'm here to drop something off." She handed Selih half of the necklace that she had given to Astarael years ago. "Hang on to it. It'll protect you."

"Where's the other half?"

"With Rana. Watch out for her for me, will you? It's pretty common knowledge that she has the worst temper of the three Sanders sisters. I'd never forgive myself if she did something stupid…" Astarael sighed and stared off into the distance again, silently sipping her soda.

"Don't talk like that. It sounds like you're not planning on seeing me again."

Astarael smiled a sad smile. "Stay safe, Selih." She finished off the can in one gulp, tossed it aside, and took off. As she flew away, a scrap of paper fell out of her jeans pocket. It got caught in an errant gust of wind and blown into the trees. With a grunt of frustration, Selih dashed after it, wasting fifteen minutes trying to catch it. When she finally did, she wasn't disappointed.

_I think it's time to end this game of cat and mouse. Meet me in the graveyard of the Clearwater Presbyterian Church at four o'clock, alone. I'm looking forward to seeing you. I think you're aware of what will happen if you disappoint me._

The note was unsigned, but it needed no signature. "Hey, Iname! I'm borrowing your car!" she shouted, scooping up his keys.

"Uh-huh," he replied, his attention fixed on his Gameboy advance SP and his brand new copy of Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones. (Because after all, the world was ending. Who cared if he 'wasted time' on 'trivial things' like video games now?) Then, as the car tore out of the street that they lived on…

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, YOU'RE BORROWING **MY **CAR?"

* * *

Both of them were breathing heavily. His left leg was sporting dozens of lacerations, dragging uselessly as he attacked, slowing him down considerably. All the magical work she had done in the last five days was finally catching up to her, making her spells weaker, her reaction time slower. He managed to score several hits, and her black clothing was soaking up blood. They were surrounded by the wreckage of aged tombstones, some of them dating all the way back to the early eighteenth century. Periodically, an aged bone would be sticking out of the upturned dirt. Astarael bit her lip and hoped that the church had a record of who was buried where. They were probably going to need it to fix the graves when everything was finshed…

He cursed eleoquently as she managed to disarm him and ruin his left hand with a jerk of her whip. The dagger went sailing off into the murk. He tried to retrieve it, when he was suddenly enveloped by black talons that rose from the earth.

"W-what… I was not told of this! Let me go!" he gasped.

"No. This shall end. We're going to die together," she said with a smile that wasn't altogether sane. "Isn't that what you wanted?"

"NO!" he cried, thrashing against his bonds.

"**I am Despair, the dispeller of Hope!" **She cried. He was encased in a green barrier, and suddenly the talons started to squeeze the life out of him even as the inside of the barrier shot lances of chronos energy through him. Astarael watched him writhe and scream for a few moments with the dispassionate detachment of someone who fully expects to die. She then opened her mouth again and finished the incantation with the last of her strength. **"Guardian Spell: Shattered Requiem!"**

The shield imploded with a sound like a thousand glasses shattering simultaneously and an earthreal wail that can only be described as the sound of a dying soul. The talons ripped cleanly through his flesh. He couldn't even scream as he was torn to shreds and his ruined corpse fell to the ground.

He was followed later by a second thump. Astarael, strength exhausted, collapsed. Her wings flared, and nine beams of light shot from her and arched off into eternity. Once the glow had subsided, her wings were completely clear, and instead of closing with unnatural speed as her injures had been wont to do, the bled more profusely than ever before.

It was in this state that Selih found her best friend, lying near a huge pool of blood and a sword with which she had become all too familiar in the past days. However, despite the fact that he must have lost every drop of blood in his body, the false Kalas was nowhere to be found.

* * *

And a world away, in the Shrine of Spirits, eight beams of light shot from the deck of a blue-haired swordsman, scattering his Magnus and knocking him unconscious. As the light faded, his companions heard a familiar voice singing a song that would have sounded like disconcertingly like a prayer.

"_Time an ever rolling stream,_

_Soon bears us all away._

_We fly forgotten as a dream,_

_Dies at the opening day."_

They roused Kalas and scoured the entire cavern. Soon all but eight of his Magnus had been recovered.

The Spirit Magnus were gone…

* * *

Phoenixfire: ARRRRRGH! Writing this chapter was like pulling teeth, and it still didn't come out the way I wanted it to!

YamiPhoenixfire: I blame Fire Emblem.

Phoenixfire: (socks YamiPhoenixfire)

YamiPhoenixfire: X-x (Faints)

Phoenixfire: I'm just too drained to deal with reviewer responses right now. (I know, I have no excuse.) However, I want you all to know that your reviews are much appreciated and give me the support I need to keep writing this. So please, continue! I shall respond to all of your reviews in the next chapter. (Which, hopefully, will be better than this one.)


	17. Not Welcome

Phoenixfire: Okay, for clarification's sake…

First of all, the real reason I didn't do reviewer responses at the end of the last chapter is because by the time I finished it, I was so tired I could barely string together a coherent sentence. Would you rather have waited a whole extra day JUST so you could get reviewer responses? Didn't think so. Secondly…

NO, I did NOT kill Astarael! WHY would I do that, after I told you that she and Kalas were going to get together? How cruel do you think I am?

YamiPhoenixfire: Very.

Phoenixfire: Shut up, you. (Tries to hit YamiPhoenixfire, who simply steps on a button. Phoenixfire overbalances and falls into a plothole)

YamiPhoenixfire: Mwahah… I am avenged… and now, comes the moment you've all been waiting for. No, I'm not going to kill off the evil Kalas. But the Baten Kaitos people are finally going to come to the real world! YES! At long last!

In this chapter I do not own: Baten Kaitos. Or my mind… since I was created by Phoenixfire, that belongs to her…

Chapter Sixteen: Not Welcome

Kalas looked dubiously at the crack that oozed dark energy, hovering over the spot where he'd bonded with Astarael three years ago. "So you're saying that all we have to do is jump in? Are you sure?"

"YES," said Xelha, Melodia, and Mizuti simultaneously.

"What's wrong, Kalas? Scared?" teased Folon.

"Hell no," Kalas spat, jumping into the void without a second thought.

* * *

"Um… miss? It's not safe for you to be on the roof," said one of the hospital aides to the young woman in white who was sitting about ten feet away from him. Ever since the girl Astarael had been brought in that afternoon, there had been near-constant monster attacks. Even though the hospital was protected by some sort of barrier, who could say if the shield would hold, especially with its creator bleeding to death three floors below them?

The young woman ignored him, however. She didn't even turn around. Her waist-length white hair hung motionless, and she remained sitting on the roof Indian style, her hands resting on her knees as if she were meditating. "Do you have a name, Miss?"

A pause. "I am Honor."

_What an odd name, especially for a girl… _"Honor…?" he trailed off suggestively. She didn't reply. "What is your last name?" he sighed, figuring that he was going to have to spell everything out for this girl.

"I am Honor," she repeated, sounding as if she thought him to be a little dense. He was beginning to wonder if the girl was quite sane.

"Miss Honor, you really shouldn't be on the roof. Come along now, surely your parents are looking for you?"

"…I must stay here."

"Why?"

"To keep my oath."

He sighed and rubbed his temples. "Regardless, I can't leave you on the roof. It's against regulations."

"You have no choice."

"Why not?"

"Because if you remove me, the barrier will implode. I'm all that's keeping it going now. I'm the only one left… the only one who has both the right kind of power and the interest to keep the barrier going…"

He blinked. "Did Astarael send you here?"

At the name Astarael, she turned around and fixed him with a piercing glare, her golden eyes practically glowing. "You could say that…"

"Your eyes! They're…"

"You must return to your duties," she interrupted, turning back around. "I have to keep my full concentration on the barrier, or it will collapse." He turned to leave, and was almost through the door, when… "Wait. A word of warning for you, healer."

He turned around. "What is it?"

"Rage is somewhere in this building. Do not provoke her."

"Ah… thank you…" he said, practically bolting through the door, and deciding that yes, the girl was indeed mad.

* * *

"Gaah… just jump in, they said. Right. What did I do to deserve this?" he groaned, sitting up and rubbing his head. Everyone else was waking up too. "Anyone have any idea where we are?"

"Nope," Xelha replied. "Did Astarael tell you anything about her world, Kalas?"

Kalas tried to think back. Astarael hadn't said much about her home, and Kalas had figured out that it was a sore subject and more or less dropped it. However, as he looked around at the brick buildings and the odd metal vehicles with wheels, even he could tell that there was something out of place.

There were no people. Not a single one.

"Um, don't you think it's odd that there's no one around? I mean, this looks like a town, and it's the middle of the day," Melodia pointed out.

"Say, is the sky supposed to be green here?" Gibari asked, pointing up.

"No," Kalas said, looking up. "Astarael didn't talk much about her home, but I think she would have said something if the sky were a different color."

They were currently standing in the middle of some sort of street, paved in a black material that Kalas didn't recognize. There were two smaller white roads that went on either side of the black one, and were raised and made of different material. The few metal vehicles (At least, that's what he thought they were) were standing idle along the white roads on either side of them. Periodically, three foot metal poles would stick out of the white roads (About every six feet or so). They had large metal counters on their ends. At one end of the street was a steel bridge going over a river, and at the one nearest to them was a second street and a building. At the corner where the two streets intersected were two green signs that crossed each other, mounted on a metal pole that stood about two heads taller than him. Kalas walked up to the sign to read it. On one side the green sign said 'Main Street', and on the other it said 'Cherryville Lane'. Across the street from him was a black sign with a white arrow that said 'One Way'.

One way? What did 'One Way' mean? Were you only allowed to walk one way? Look one way? Or did it have something to do with the vehicles that they'd seen periodically?

Kalas looked up at that moment, and saw something that he _did _recognize.

"WHAT? That's impossible!"

"Kalas, what's wro…" Xelha followed his gaze, and she saw it too.

In the distance floated Cor Hydrae.

_BEEP! BEEP!_

Everyone's heads snapped in the direction of the bridge, where a brilliant blue wheeled vehicle (Apparently they _were _used for transportation purposes) come barreling across the bridge, heading straight at them in speeds Kalas guessed were probably excessive for a town. However, considering that the driver was being chased by four winged demons, that wasn't very surprising. Everyone scrambled to get out of the way, but the blue vehicle still nearly ran Melodia down.

"Watch where you're going, you bastard!" Kalas shouted at the driver.

"Fuck you!" came the irritated reply, complete with rude hand gesture. However, the driver in question had taken his eyes off the road when he had flipped Kalas the finger, which resulted in him accidentally crashing into a small tree. "SHIT! Now look what you made me do! Those monsters are going to fuc-"

"The Great Mizuti thinks you should be quiet now," Mizuti growled, brandishing her chakram at him. The rude man swallowed his retort at the sight of the weapon, and turned even paler at the sight of the others pulling out guns and swords and their other miscellaneous weapons. They proceeded to take out the four flying monsters with minimal difficulty.

Kalas turned to the driver of the blue vehicle. "Care to tell us what's going on here?"

"… you're…! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! PLEASE DON'T KILL MEEEEEE!" the man screamed upon getting a good look at Kalas's face. He then kicked his poor, abused vehicle into high gear and drove away as fast as he possibly could, loosing a shiny metal strip off the bottom of the front of his vehicle and some other random pieces from the bottom.

"…what was that about?" Kalas wondered. No one else had any idea either.

* * *

"…what are you doing, Rana?" Selih asked. She'd dropped by to see if Astarael's condition had improved any (not that she had expected it to) and to (hopefully) glean some information about Astarael's current state from her odd great-grandmother. Instead, she had found a near-empty hospital room, unoccupied save for Rana, who had one of Astarael's old origami books and appeared to be attempting to fold a crane.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm trying to fold a crane."

"Why, dare I ask? Wouldn't it be better to start with something a little easier to fold?"

"Astarael told me about this old legend she read about, where if you can fold a thousand paper cranes you can make a wish and it'll come true. I want Astarael to get better." She looked forlornly at the mess of folds she had made so far. "I'm no good, though. But that's not going to stop me from trying!"

Selih smiled slightly. _If only things were really that easy…

* * *

_

"So… how are we going to find your Guardian, anyway? Especially if people scream and run away whenever they see us." Folon asked after they'd wandered around the town for about an hour, trying to find other people. The place seemed to be deserted.

"Um… the Great Mizuti senses energy to the south. It feels a bit like the magical barrier that protects Anuenue."

"Hmm… if there's a barrier, then the people who used to live here are probably there," Savyna suggested. "This place isn't exactly the best place to weather attacks from monsters and the like."

"Well, that's as good of an idea as any… south it is…" Just then, they saw six black and white vehicles with red and blue flashing lights careening towards them.

"Uh… anyone else have a bad feeling about this?" Gibari muttered, hefting his paddle into a guard position. At that point, about a dozen men dressed in blue uniforms jumped out of the vehicles, drawing weapons that looked vaguely like the rifles that the Empire used.

"You, with the blue hair and the brown cape, the blue skinned freak and the magenta haired chick! All three of you are charged with murder! We'll be taking all of you in for questioning! Now drop your weapons and put your hands in the air!"

Everyone blinked and stared. _We've been here less than an hour! How could we have killed anyone? Well, we did save that one guy, but… _"Xelha. Take everyone else and run. They're after me, Ayme, and Folon. The rest of you should be able to get away if we provide a distraction. Find Astarael. Whatever's going on, she should be able to help you get to the bottom of this."

"You think that the three of you can fight together for more than two minutes with out _accidentally _killing each other?" Xelha asked in disbelief.

"It's not like we're going to have much of a choice," Kalas pointed out. "Take everyone else and run."

"Hey, I don't like this plan!" Folon protested.

"Got a better one?" Kalas snarled.

"…No. Very well, let the stalling begin!" Folon exclaimed, using his whip to snag the weapon of the nearest gun as Ayme opened fire on two of the others.

"**Sword Style: Blue Storm!"** Kalas shouted, unleashing a small gale on one of the vehicles and the three people standing next to it, knocking them into the ground. "Ayme, Folon, try not to kill anyone!"

"Pah! Easy for you to say!" Ayme shouted as she dodged a series of bullets. "Oh, for the love of Malpercio! Coffin Shield!" Ayme's Magnus created a large black shield, which she hid behind to avoid more bullets. "So, any bright ideas, Raven?"

"Don't call me that!"

* * *

Nothing stirred in the graveyard of the Clearwater Presbyterian Church. There was no wind to stir the dying grass. No birds sang, no insects buzzed. Nothing. Not a single sound save the whisper of her breathing, not a single movement but the rise and fall of her chest.

Despair liked it that way, if she could be said to like anything at all.

Her green and black hair fell to her shoulders in a matted mass. It had been bound in pigtails once, but now most of her hair had escaped the confines of the two fraying black ribbons that had once confined it. The hair was dirty and hopelessly tangled, with a decidedly windswept look to it. It had no sheen, no luster at all, not even the sickly shine that natural oil would have given it.

It looked like the hair of a corpse.

Her clothing was in a state much like that of her hair, filthy and tattered, the greens of her dress faded, her black gloves riddled with holes, tears in her once-emerald leggings, scuffs on her onyx-colored boots. The clothing would probably remind the passerby of a scarecrow.

Of course, the passerby couldn't see her.

Her eyes were a flat, dull, tarnished shade of gold. Completely blank, the tainted golden orbs seemed to swallow light instead of reflecting it. Those eyes were now focused in the direction of town, where she knew that He was fighting.

She could help, of course. She was entitled to do so.

But she wouldn't of course, because no matter what she did, it wouldn't make any difference. Surely she would just mess everything up anyway. She always failed at everything. She was a failure as a student, a daughter, a sister, a friend, a Guardian… Better to sit here, and not meddle with the outside world. Better to allow what was meant to be come to pass, she had no chance of stopping it…

Couldn't they see? The world was much better off without her anyway.

The world would be much better off with no Astarael.

* * *

"I still don't like the fact that we left Kalas and the other two behind," Gibari muttered.

"Gibari, I'm worried about them too, but…"

"Well, that's awfully silly. You know that all three of them can take care of themselves."

Everyone started and looked up in the direction of the voice. They saw a young girl of about ten or eleven sitting on the windowsill of a second-story shop, her feet dangling over the street in an almost careless manner. She had pale skin, short green hair cropped to her jaw line, and golden eyes. She was dressed a long emerald green gown with long sleeves and a square-shaped neck. For jewelry, she wore a pair of earrings that appeared to be small green clocks, and a little golden hourglass around her neck.

"Who are you?" Xelha demanded.

"That doesn't matter yet. You should go to the hospital. Ask for Selih, she should be able to tell you what's going on. Trust the others to do what they do best." With a cheery wave, she vanished.

"Creepy kid. Didn't even give us her name…" Gibari muttered.

"That's not all that was odd about her. Mizuti, Xelha, didn't you sense it too?" Melodia asked.

"Mmm… yes,"

"The Great Mizuti sensed it too!"

"Sensed what?" Lyude asked.

"That girl… she had a portion of Astarael's magic," Xelha said.

And there were a few moments of silence while they pondered what that could mean, before Savyna ventured the question, "Does anyone have any idea what a 'hospital' is?"

* * *

Phoenixfire: As for who all these creepy girls that I'm bringing into the plot are… I should think it's very obvious. Oh, and that paragraph describing Despair was written immediately after I had a HUGE fight with my little sister, hence the excessively dreary imagery.

YamiPhoenixfire: How the heck did you get out of that plothole, anyway?

Phoenixfire: (Holds up YamiPhoenixfire's Escape Magnus)

YamiPhoenixfire: NOOOO! That's mine! (Knocks Phoenixfire out in her mad attempts to get her hands on the Magnus.) My darling, my precious, are you hurt? Did that nasty little hobitsies hurt you? Wait… (considers her last sentence, them picks up the nearest blunt object and hits herself over the head with it) I knew that reading Lord of the Rings was a bad idea… (Looks at prone form of Phoenixfire) No! Now I have to do the reviewer response section for TWO chapters all by my lonesome! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

**Reviews for Chapter Fifteen**

Dark Hurricane: Your review has been counted. And yes, Fire Emblem DOES rock. (whisper) Just don't tell Phoenixfire I said that, okay? She'll never let me live it down…

Katrina Ice Angel of Darkness: Your vote has been counted. And I see you've changed your penname. Interesting…

blooangel: Your vote has been counted. What's with all these people voting KalasxXelha, I wanna kill off the annoying little… how dare she obstruct my way to Kalas (Phoenixfire rolls over in her sleep and shoots a ball of white fire at YamiPhoenixfire, missing the later's head by about three centimeters) Eeep, her aim's awfully good when she's out cold… I don't think I'll be making any more jokes about Kalas being mine… heheh…

Katrina Gomez: Your vote was counted as KalasxAstarael. And of COURSE the evil Kalas is going to get his! Like I said earlier… slow torture with the Ocean Mirror… And I'm glad someone else found the 'ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall' gag amusing. Maybe if I go back and edit I'll do more long car/White Dragon trip torture.

lighteningrae: Another person who appreciates our (sometimes lame) sense of humor. Your vote has been counted!

And of COURSE Kalas is the father! Xelha actually DOES have a reason for keeping her mouth shut. All shall be revealed in due time. (Mostly because I'm afraid Phoenixfire will flash fry me before she realizes what's happening if I give out any major spoilers. I never knew that she'd actually be more dangerous when she was asleep…)

Iname as One: Of course Phoenixfire would show emotion _in real life_. But this is her fanfic where she gets to take out all her frustrations on real life AND fantasize about what she would do if she weren't always so damn nice all the time… (stares at the other readers) What, you think she was writing this just for YOU? Half the time, Crimson Rain (and the pretty reviews accompanying the story) is all that stands between our Fearless Author and insanity.

And when, Iname, did either of us say that Rob was dead? Of course, when did we say that he was alive, either?

Think on it. Oh, and your vote has been counted.

Vanya the Elven Maiden of the Valar: Your vote has been counted. I don't like Xelha much myself… (ducks another fireball thrown by Phoenixfire) Arrgh! If you're awake, get up and give me a hand!

(Silence)

(crickets chirruping)

(Owl hooting)

(Annoying person driving through neighborhood with music blasting at 11:57 PM)

Okay, fine. Be that way.

**Reviews for Chapter Sixteen**

lighteningrae: …of course I didn't kill Astarael! Of course, it might've been nicer to kill her…

Karina Gomez: No, Astarael is not dead. Not saying nothing about anyone else (fake-innocent whistle) Phoenixfire would be weeping tears of joy to know that her chapter didn't suck. She got soooooooooo frustrated trying to write that chapter…

blooangel: Glad you liked the music lyrics Phoenixfire put in. Vast quantities of her life have been spent singing in church, and it's finally managing to rear its ugly head, despite her efforts to hide it for fear of offending people.

Fan Fan Girl: You read it all in ONE DAY? Wow. Heh, sorry the voting closed on you, but you would have made it a tie, and that would have been bad. The fate of this story would have been decided by a coin flip. Still… (files into vanilla folder marked 'pep reviews for Phoenixfire when she falls into depressive writer's block)

Katrina Ice Angel of Darkness: (Files in vanilla folder marked 'pep reviews for Phoenixfire when she falls into depressive writer's block)

Iname as One: Hah! You agree with me! INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS ARE OUT TO GET US ALL! (Deep breath) And yes, we know you don't have it, so here are all the major plot spoilers! First of all, Lyon… (Phoenixfire throws another fireball at her) ARRRRRGH! WOULD YOU KNOCK THAT OFF!

Phoenixfire: Knock what off? (rubs face groggily)

YamiPhoenixfire: Um… nevermind. Do the last reviewer response.

Phoenixfire: Um… okay. (rubs skull) What happened to me anyway?

YamiPhoenixfire: Ignore the egg-sized bruise forming on your skull and do the response!

Phoenixfire: (clutches skull) Please don't yell!

Luna-Starr: Of course I didn't kill Astarael! Where would my story be without the main character?

Phoenixfire: Now. Why do I have a splitting headache, and where did all those scorch marks on the walls come from?

YamiPhoenixfire: Um… you did it!

(Hits the 'update' button before Phoenixfire can respond properly)


	18. A Crown of Roses

Phoenixfire: Don't laugh at me… but the OC featured in this chapter is my Halloween costume this year. I couldn't think of anything else to do.

YamiPhoenixfire: You're lazy.

Phoenixfire: Hey, it's not my fault that there was nothing good at Wal-Mart to tear to pieces and make into a costume! And I REFUSE to be a wood nymph again!

YamiPhoenixfire: Yeah, yeah…

Phoenixfire: Grrr!

Disclaimer: Seeing as Yami's last attempt at a hostile takeover attempt failed miserably (luckily I was able to remove her before people started poking through the ashes that were left over after she got shot) I still don't own Baten Kaitos.

YamiPhoenixfire: Hey, I thought we agreed that you weren't going to mention that!

Phoenixfire: Well, that's what you get for making fun of me! (sticks out tongue and runs away)

YamiPhoenixfire: You… little… BRAT! (pulls out Anti-Good wards and starts to pursue)

Chapter Seventeen: A Crown of Roses

It was night now. Honor could tell. She had been on the roof long enough to notice the slight variations between the color of the green sky when it was day, and it's slightly darker night shade.

"Thought I'd find you here," sighed a woman from behind her. "Seems like exactly the sort of _noble _thing you'd do, Honor. Sitting up here powering the barrier, protecting those idiots who didn't give a shit about us when we were whole and trying to protect them. This is a fool's errand. Once the body dies, you'll run out of power eventually."

"But I can make a difference while I still have the chance, can't I?" Honor snapped. "What are _you _doing here, _sister_?"

The other woman advanced. Honor didn't need to turn around to know what she looked like; black hair the same length as her own, black sleeveless dress that came down to her knees, black boots, black cape. A black glove on her left arm that extended from her mid forearm and cut off at her fingers. Black roses, a crown on her head. A black bow in her right hand and a quiver full of arrows hanging from her waist. Golden eyes.

"I have a request. The power of the barriers belongs to all of us, but you siphoned off the energy of four of them just so that you could power this… lesson in stupidity. I only want you to share some of that power with me, Honor. One ninth. I am entitled to my share."

"The power shall only be used for its original purpose. Unless you wish to make your own barrier as Memory did, I will not give you one drop of the power."

"Pah! Barriers and wardings! They're the reason that we're in this mess to begin with! What's the point in it all? No one will ever appreciate all the toil we put into keeping them safe… they never do! All they do is _yell _and_ yell _and **_yell_**! Never once do we get any acknowledgement for our hard work! Doesn't it frustrate you, Honor? That no one knows or cares that you're sitting up here day and night, doing nothing but holding the barrier intact? Don't you want their respect? Their adoration for your sacrifice? Don't you want to be loved?"

"It is you, Love, who needs these things. I neither desire nor understand them. My duty is enough for me. Keeping my word, aiding others, this is what sustains me. I require nothing else out of life."

"Bah! Vengeance is right about you! You are the biggest _bore _on God's green earth! Cold-hearted, miserly bitch…" Honor heard the door slam, and hoped that Love would leave the hospital without bashing in someone's skull. She could be as passionate as Rage when given a reason to be… and she'd certainly been given reason, when…

Not that Honor could remember. She knew bits and pieces that pertained to her, nothing more of the time when they had been whole. That was how she knew and recalled her duty. Perhaps she could ask Memory why Love was so preoccupied with the thoughts of others…?

_No._ It was not her duty to inquire into Love's affairs.

"Wow, someone has anger management problems…" sighed yet another female voice. Honor did recognize the voice vaguely, but could not place it, and so did not respond. "Those flowers she was wearing smelled beautiful, though. I can still smell them, as a matter of fact. Where did she find roses, much less black ones, that are still growing and healthy?"

"Those roses are special. You can only smell them if you have been in love before."

"Really? Can you smell them?"

"No."

"Ah…" the girl walked over and placed a tray of food in front of her. "Some guy working here told me that you've been sitting up here all day. I figured that you could use some food to keep your strength up. Hungry?" the girl asked.

"I do not eat."

The girl sighed, shaking her head sadly. She wore half a silver bird on a piece of black ribbon around her neck. The bird looked familiar to Honor, but again she could not place it. "Look, whatever your name is…"

"Honor."

"Okay… Honor. I know that you have something to do with my best friend, Astarael. You look just like her. So you might as well spill. What are you?"

"…Memory told me once, what we are. I know nothing outside of what she told me, friend of Astarael, so ask me no questions. I will only say this once, so do not expect me to repeat myself…"

* * *

"Owwww," Kalas groaned, trying to clutch his head,

"Don't touch it yet," Ayme snarled. "It's still healing."

"What do you mean, it's still healing?" Kalas groaned, cracking his eyes open. Light blinded him, so he quickly squeezed his eyes shut. The last thing he remembered was using a Large Fire Magnus to get rid of the people in blue suits who had tackled Folon, and then…

…nothing.

"You were clipped on the side of the head by a bullet after you were distracted by Folon's idiocy."

"And for the record, I didn't need your help!" Folon snapped from somewhere to Kalas's left.

"Yeah right," Ayme snorted. "Anyway, you went down, and once that happened… things sort of fell apart. Someone got the bright idea of gassing us. Folon and I couldn't do anything after that. I think we're awfully lucky that they haven't figured out what Magnus do yet, or we wouldn't have been able to heal you and you probably would have bled to death."

Kalas opened his eyes (the light wasn't nearly as blinding this time) and looked askance at Ayme. "Why did you save me?"

"Because, sadly, you're friends with our boss. And, if we get a chance to fight again, we can use you as a meat shield."

"Wow. Thanks," Kalas replied sarcastically. "Wait, you said that they don't know what Magnus do?"

"Don't use 'em here, apparently. Lucky for us. You especially," Folon replied.

"Yeah. So… any ideas for getting out of here?" Kalas asked.

"Of course," Ayme replied, holding up an Escape Magnus. "An Imperial Soldier is always prepared."

Ayme activated the Escape Magnus, and the three of them materialized outside of their cell, scaring the heck out of the poor newbie police officer who had been sent to feed them. Wasting no time with petty things such as shock, Folon pinned the poor man to the wall, sending the platter of rather unappetizing food (suspiciously stale-looking bread, bananas that were more than ripe, and water of questionable purity) crashing to the ground.

"Where are our weapons?" Folon growled

"I… I… I won't tell you!" the man stuttered.

"Wrong answer!" Folon exclaimed cheerily as he bashed the man into the wall. The poor policeman slumped in Folon's grip, clearly unconscious. "Pfft, lightweight."

"Smooth, Folon. NOW how are we supposed to get our weapons back?" Ayme hissed, hitting the other Imperial over the head.

"OW! That…" Folon swallowed his complaints as he saw Ayme raise her fist again. "Um… I guess we'll just have to start walking." His two companions groaned and rolled their eyes, and hoped that the complex that they had been imprisoned in wasn't too big.

* * *

"…We are the shards of Astarael's soul, which was shattered when she overextended her energy. There are nine of us. Myself, the woman you just saw, Love…"

"_That _was love?" Selih gasped. Love was supposed to be… pretty and red and pink, not black and depressing with anger management problems.

"Yes. The other seven are Rage, Kindness, Memory, Wisdom, Vengeance, Despair, and Hope. We vary in strength and temperament, but we are all soul shards, given the ability to physically manifest ourselves on this plane of existence by the Spirit Cards we absorbed. We each have an allotted amount of energy. Once we use it up, we will lose our physical forms."

"Is there any way to… put you back together?" Selih asked hesitantly.

"The Cardbearer can re-unite us."

"Cardbearer? Who's that?"

"I do not know. It is not part of my duty."

"Somehow… I knew that you were going to say that," Selih sighed, getting up. She actually had a fairly good guess as to who the 'Cardbearer' was… she just had no idea how to reach him.

* * *

"Hey! It's Astarael!" shouted one of the two boys looking at her.

"You sure that's her? Her hair's all weird and streaky…"

"Course I am! How many people do you see with yellow eyes?" The young woman said nothing, she merely stared at them. They were partially right, after all.

One ninth to be exact.

"Hello, bitch. I still haven't gotten the chance to repay you for getting me suspended," grunted the guy who seemed to be the leader. The golden-eyed woman narrowed her eyes, _now _she remembered the idiot. It was vague, but she definitely remembered him punching her and knocking her into a locker.

Normally, a trivial thing, something not even worth wasting her time on. But he was clearly trying to pick a fight with her, and it went against her instincts to let things slide.

So she would fight. If he messed up her plans, she could always come back to kill him later. Wasn't like he could get very far as long as the barrier was up.

"Cry me a river, build me a bridge, and incinerate it while you're still walking across. It would be doing the world a favor, trust me on this one," she sighed. She didn't bother unwinding her weapon; that was reserved for _worthy _opponents.

"What… did you just say?"

"I said that your complaints against me are trivial and unimportant. Your pride has been wounded, nothing more. I have no desire for revenge against you. You are wasting my time. Get out of my way."

"You… die, you little…!" he came charging at her, winding up for a haymaker.

Laughable.

She waited until the foolish boy was nearly upon her, and then stepped neatly out of the way. As he barreled past her, she hit him with a well-timed elbow strike that landed just to the left of his spine. He flew forward several feet and collapsed in a heap, clutching his back.

"Get your friend to a doctor. He's probably bleeding internally," she snapped at the second, much smaller boy.

"Wh-who are you?" he stuttered.

"My name… is no concern of yours," she said coldly, turning to leave. Her red and turquoise shoulder length hair fanned out behind her even though there was no wind, and the boy found himself staring at the broken scales etched in crimson on the back of her aqua jacket as she walked off into the gloom.

* * *

Phoenixfire: Urk… sub-par yet again…

YamiPhoenixfire: Yaay! My pessimism has rubbed off on you!

Phoenixfire: That's not the only thing that's rubbed off… (rubs burn marks from the wards with Aloe cream) ANYWAY, since this was SUPPOSED to be a Halloween chapter, I'm going to do something to make up for the late update…

(There are ,muffled curses from behind a red curtain that somehow magically appeared in Phoenixfire's bedroom) Yes, I'm going to do a Baten Kaitos Halloween! (Snaps her fingers. A cloud o fsmoke surrounds her. When it disappears, she'd dressed up as Love) And first out is… Geldoblame!

Geldoblame: I refuse to come out! This is humiliating!

Phoenixfire: Do you wish to become intimately acquainted with my Anti-Evil wards?

Geldoblame: No! (he dashes out onto the stage, dressed in a clown costume)

Phoenixfire: Unoriginal, I know. But really, the costume is just an excuse to do THIS! (snaps her fingers. A group of kindergarteners armed with pies appear) Everyone who pegs the mean old man gets free candy!

Kindergarten Horde: CANDY! (They throw the pies at Geldoblame and chase him out of the room)

Phoenixfire: Next up is… Melodia! (Melodia walks out. She's dressed up as Aura from the .Hack series)

Melodia: Why, dare I ask?

Phoenixfire: Don't look at me, this was Yami's idea.

YamiPhoenixfire: (Claps hands. Data bug appears)

Melodia: (stares) What kind of game does a monster like that pop out of?

YamiPhoenixfire: One that's on crack. You'd better start running, they're invincible without the Key of the Twilight.

Melodia: And why would that thing want to chase me?

YamiPhoenixfire: 'Cause it thinks you HAVE the Key of the Twilight.

Melodia: (curses. Data Bug chases her out of the room)

Phoenixfire: Okay… next up are… Ayme and Folon!

(Both of them walk out, looking slightly nervous. Folon is dressed up as Inuyasha and Ayme is Kikyo.)

YamiPhoenixfire: Don't look like that, nothing's going to happen to you.

Phoenixfire: Yeah, we've only got it out for Melodia, Geldoblame, and Barnette.

Ayme: Okay… so why did you dress us up?

Phoenixfire: To amuse the readers. (Whisper) also, I think the costumes fit. Inuyasha is a loudmouth and a bit of a jerk and Kikyo is a sadistic bitch. Perfectly suited.

Ayme: What did you say? (draws arrow)

Phoenixfire: Oooh, scary… you do realize that those are plastic, right?

YamiPhoenixfire: Get going before we recall the Kindergarten Horde and sick them on you. (Wisely, they exit)

Phoenixfire: Okay, next up… the heroes of Baten Kaitos! (All six of them walk out. Kalas is Hector from FE7, Xelha is Princess Zelda from the Zelda games, Lyude is Vash from Trigun, Savyna is Raven from Teen Titans, Gibari is Wakka from Final Fantasy X, and Mizuti is… a Deku Scrub, also from the Zelda games) (urk, couldn't think of anything that fit Mizuti…)

Kalas: Why am I…?

Phoenixfire: Oh Kalas, don't complain. You and Hector are so much alike.

YamiPhoenixfire: You both have blue hair…

Phoenixfire: You're both incredibly blunt…

YamiPhoenixfire: And you both solve your problems with violence. It's a perfect match.

Kalas: What? Take that back! (brandishes plastic axe)

Xelha: (sighs) Kalas, you're just proving them right.

Kalas: So says you, Miss Damsel in Distress!

Xelha: I am not!

Mizuti: Why does the Great Mizuti have such a generic costume?

Phoenixfire: Because the Great Mizuti is so… unique… that neither of us could think up a good costume.

YamiPhoenixfire: Okay, wrapping things up… come on out, Barnette!

(silence)

Xelha: Um… I think that she might have run away…

Phoenixfire: Grr… she was warned about that…

(From somewhere outside…)

: TRINITY LIMIT!

(Back inside)

Xelha: What was that?

Phoenixfire: Um…. I kinda dressed her up as Malefecent… and cursed the costume so that she couldn't take it off… um, I guess that Sora, Donald, and Goofy found her… yeah… (quails at the angry look in Xelha's eyes) um… on to reviewer responses… yeah…

**Reviewer Responses**

Blooangel: Yes, everything is funny after midnight. Personally… I don't really have a strong opinion on Xelha. I can see why people hate her, even though I don't feel that way myself.

Luna-Starr: (claps hands) Yaay, you figured it out! Although, that IS only half of it…

Iname as One: (claps hands) and Iname gets the other half. Can you update your story when your course work lets up? (puppy dog eyes)

Vanya the Elven Maiden of the Valar: Astarael is in the Hospital. But Despair is part of Astarael, and she, more than any other 'aspect' (my term for them) tends to refer to herself as such.

Kill Xelha soon? 0o… violent, aren't you?

Karina Gomez: Teen Titans was part of my inspiration for this idea. Congrats on your Bio grade.

Hmm… a battle between DD and the Authoress-eating dogs. I wonder who will win?

Katrina Ice Angel of Darkness: Yup, they've been there for like, an hour, and people are already trying to arrest them. Poor guys.

_Next Chapter_: Kalas will discover his 'evil twin'. Rana will learn never to underestimate the power of jewelry. And Xelha will meet an old friend. Sort of.


	19. Meetings

YamiPhoenixfire: Houston, we have a stalker…

Phoenixfire: SHUT UP! (throws pillow)

YamiPhoenixfire: Like that's really going to kill me…

Phoenixfire: (grins and pulls out nuke)

YamiPhoenixfire: Um… disclaimer! Right, Disclaimer! Phoenixfire does not own Baten Kaitos, nor does she own her stalker ex boyfriend who tried to get her to go out with him AGAIN via mutual friends. However, she may soon own a restraining order if he won't leave her in peace. (Hint, Hint)

Phoenixfire: I may also own a headless alter ego if you don't SHUT UP!

Chapter Eighteen: Meetings

"Hmm, glowy multicolored barrier… large building with people camped outside… well, I think this was where we were supposed to end up," Gibari said.

"Agreed," Savyna replied. "However, I think we have a problem."

Gibari looked askance at her. "No, really? Besides the fact that we had to abandon three members of our group? Why, whatever else could be wrong?"

Savyna sighed and rolled her eyes. "Their clothing. It's completely different from what we're wearing. They'll know immediately that we're not from around here, and we don't know enough about this world and the people here to lie convincingly." Savyna had a point. Most of me people seemed to be dressed in pants of a blue fabric and various shirts.

"Um… I saw a store displaying clothing back in the town…" Melodia said somewhat hesitantly. Since she was currently with a group of people whom she had tried to kill in the not-so-distant past, she felt a bit awkward about drawing attention to herself.

Xelha sighed. She didn't like the thought of stealing, and liked it even less since Melodia had suggested it, but… "Does anyone else have any other ideas?" Xelha asked, almost pleaded.

"If you're uncomfortable with stealing, we could always leave some gold in the store," Melodia added.

"Okay, we're going to lose more time by going back and we might run into the guys in the blue suits again, but it WILL help us to avoid a lot of unwanted questions. So, let's get going."

Unbeknownst to them, a little girl with shoulder-length brown hair and dark brown eyes had seen the group of strange-looking people staring at the building and then turning around and leaving. With the curiosity of a twelve-year-old, she decided to follow them. No one noticed the little girl leave. Most people were too busy trying to keep track of their family and close friends to be troubled with one little girl. Those who did know the girl were more or less too busy trying to keep her ailing older sister alive to be bothered to track her every movement.

And so, Rana Sanders managed to slip off undetected. All in all, she was very proud of her 'stealthiness'. She crept off after the strangers humming the James Bond theme under her breath.

* * *

Luckily for Kalas, Ayme, and Folon, the area where they were being held was quite small. There were only about twelve cells, none of which had been in use except the one where they had been being held. All they had to do was walk up a set of stairs, and they were in a small room with a desk, some technical appliances, and one very surprised man in a blue uniform, who Kalas and Folon quickly rendered unconscious. This resulted in a VERY pissed Ayme, as she had wanted to question the man. So, two beatings and a lecture upon the idiocy of the male sex and blue-haired people in general, they set about to scouring the room for their weapons. No such luck.

"Damn! This isn't a big place, where could they have put them?" Ayme snapped, sitting down on the desk. She sat on a remote of some sort of remote and one of the monitors turned on.

"This is Cathy Reyson with Channel Fourteen local news. It is now going into the second week since the unidentified flying object appeared above the skies of our fair county, cutting us off from the rest of the state and country, with no end in sight. We once again encourage you all to evacuate to the Memorial Hospital. Food shortages have been reported throughout the area. We would like to encourage…" The pretty blonde woman who was talking looked off to the side, as if something had piqued her interest. "Wait…! This just in from local police, we have finally apprehended the blue-haired criminal responsible for multiple attacks upon our citizens! He is currently in custody of our local police force! And remember, you heard it first from the Channel Fourteen local news! Reports say that he was captured with the two people who broke into and attacked local South Clearwell High School, critically injuring one student. This student's name has not been given, although according to doctors, the student was released about two days after the appearance of the flying fortress. However, there were several people at the scene of their capture, who fled when police arrived. Were these people accomplices, or simply innocent bystanders? The police cannot tell us, but warn people to be suspicious of strangers wearing 'odd garb'. Office Keith is here now to give us the details."

"Damn, this is bad! Now they'll be looking for Xelha and the others too!" Kalas hissed as the picture changed to a heavyset man in the familiar and now hated blue uniform.

"Ahem. Ah, yes, there were six others…" and then the man proceeded to furnish whoever was watching (which they had to assume would be a fair number of people) with accurate descriptions of their traveling companions. Although it _was _amusing to watch the poor man fish for words to describe Mizuti, the implications weren't the least bit funny.

With an annoyed sigh, Kalas reached for the remote to turn the infernal thing off. Unfortunately for him, Ayme was still sitting on it. Letting loose an angry shriek, the sniper lunged at him and they both tumbled onto the floor as Ayme tried to choke the life out of him.

"Teach… you… a… lesson… pervert!" Ayme hissed

"Remote… all I wanted… was the remote… to turn… the damn thing… off!" Kalas choked out.

"Oh," Ayme replied, sanity slowly bleeding back into her expression as shedisengaged her hands from his throat and got off of him.

"You could have helped," Kalas growled at Folon, massaging his bruised throat as he staggered to his feet.. The blue-skinned Imperial was doubled over; laughing so hard he could barely breathe.

"Y'know… from the right angle… it almost looked like the two of you were making out…" he wheezed.

Ayme and Kalas simply stared at him, their mouths hanging open and eyes widening in mirror expressions of shock. Then they both leaned over and relieved the unconscious policeman of his weapons (Ayme took his gun and Kalas purloined his nightstick )

"Wanna say that again, Folon?" Ayme asked. The sound of the hammer being cocked echoed though the room.

"Um… no! I said nothing! Nothing at all!" Folon said hastily. He had seen Ayme pick off a fly with a throwing knife from fifteen feet away. He knew that, at this range, if she chose to fire, he was a dead man.

Ayme opened her mouth to reply, but was interrupted by an ear-splitting scream. A young girl, who appeared to be about five or six years old, bolted inside. Her yellow eyes darted around as she looked for someplace to hide. Her dark blue dress was torn in several places, and she was missing a shoe. She then focused on Kalas and rain over to him, clutching his cape and whimpering.

"H-hey! What's wrong, kid?"

"I-I-I… I don't know what I did wrong!" she sobbed. "All I did was h-heal him and he started y-yelling at me! And now he's c-chasing me, and trying to h-hurt me! All I wanted was to be friends!"

"Shh, it's okay, we won't let him hurt you… just stop crying already!" Kalas moaned.

"O-Okay… I-I'll t-try…" she stuttered, Kalas's usual brusque attitude making her eve more nervous than she had been before. "y-you can stop him, right? I mean, y-you've gotta be his brother or something… you look exactly alike!"

"Huh?" Kalas asked. However, before he could get a decent reply, the door was blown open. Everyone whirled, weapons brandished…

"Well," said the Dark Kalas. "This is an interesting turn of events…"

* * *

"Um, Melodia, I don't think that the shirt is supposed to cover your hands… maybe it's too big?"

"I like it like this," Melodia replied. She was wearing a white turtleneck sweater that had sleeves that came down so low that they only left her fingertips showing, and a white skirt. She had removed her traditional headdress and allowed her hair to hand loose. Surprisingly, her hair was actually long enough to fall to her mid back.

"I don't think… oh, whatever. Ignore me," Xelha sighed. Instead of mixing and matching, she had simply made her outfit mimic what one of the life sized dolls was wearing. She had on a very tight pair of light blue pants, a light pink shirt with very thin straps, and a dark pink long sleeved shirt of very thin fabric over that.

"Speaking of sizes, don't you think those pants are a little small on you?"

"Are you saying they make me look fat?"

"I'm saying they make you look… cheap."

"_What _was that?"

"Ladies, ladies, fight the monsters, not each other!" Gibari begged. He didn't look much different than he normally did, he'd found a pair of brown pants and a dark orange short-sleeved shirt that read 'Got Fish?' (I know… lame, lame pun, but I HAD to do something with fishing! It was just too good to pass up!)

Xelha resisted the urge to say something along the lines of 'She started it!', as she knew it would make her look childish. So she simply contented herself with glaring at Melodia. The other young woman returned the favor with equal intensity.

"Are Lyude, Savyna, and Mizuti done yet?" Xelha asked. Gibari opened his mouth to answer…

…when they heard a loud crashing noise form outside.

* * *

"Owie," Rana muttered as a piece of the concrete that had been broken off the wall by a mace strike that had been meant to pulverize her clipped her cheek. The monster leaned back, and that disgusting eye in its belly opened up. She hurled herself to the right just in time to miss being blasted by a beam of dark magic. **"I am the Light, dispeller of Darkness! Guardian Spell: Shining Seraphim!"** The light magic slammed into the monster, bringing it to its knees. However, it got right back up again, and it looked more mad than hurt. "Oooh!" she growled as she tore her sister's necklace off her neck. "Stupid pendant! If you're more than a piece of junk jewelry, than help me out of this mess!"

As if in answer to her desperate call, the pendant began to glow a dark red. As Xelha, Melodia, and Gibari came out of the store with Magnus brandished, they saw the glow fade, revealing a girl who appeared to be about sixteen or seventeen years old with shoulder length bright red hair, wearing a dark red shirt with one of the sleeves torn of at mid shoulder, a pair of lighter red pants that cut off at the knee, dark red boots, and half a silver bird on a piece of ribbon around her neck. Her most interesting articles of clothing were the gauntlet on her left arm and the blindfold that covered her eyes. She turned to Rana.

"'Bout time you called me, kid. I was getting pissed, with all that waiting." The strange teenager said to a startled Rana. "Now…" she seemed to scan the area, then focus on the monster. "AH HAH! Anger management!" she cried gleefully, three metallic claws springing from her gauntlet as she charged forward, twirling her mace.

* * *

Phoenixfire: And that's the end of the chapter. I promise to update, unlike SOME people I know (coughInamecough)

Ah… where was I? Oh yes… reviewer responses.

Wolf From the Hidden Flames: Cool penname. Yes, Love was different from what most people would have expected. (YamiPhoenixfire: Beware! Philosophy Ahead)(Phoenixfire: You really want to die, don't you?)(YamiPhoenixfire: MEEP! I'll be good, just put the wards down!) Love, if you really think about it, can be a very selfish emotion. I mean, you want **this **person, and you **don't **want to share them with **anyone**. That sounds very selfish to me. Furthermore, Astarael is in a very bad place emotionally. Her mother keeps yelling at her, her sister's trying to kill her, and SOMEONE is impersonating the guy she does like, who is going out with another girl. So yeah, Astarael's Love being a dark elemental? Not really very surprising…

DarkSoccerKnight7012: I reviewed Fire Emblem: Shadow of Bern. I was going to read some of your other stuff, but my internet kinda… died. Which also killed my initiative to get this chapter finished, which pushed this chapter's release date waaaay back. Life sucks, don't it? I'm glad you liked my story, and as to weather Tales of Symphonia or Baten Kaitos is better… I don't know. Both had their good and bad points. Both had really great plot twists. And considering I really game for plot…

wingsofheart: (blinks) wow, haven't seen you in a while. Glad you're still reading my story!

Katrina Ice Angel of Darkness: (grins) yeah, that part was funny, wasn't it? Glad you like the story!

Iname as One: And the world shall bow before my l33t Fire Emblem skillz! (YamiPhoenixfire: I don't think anyone really ca… ARRG! THE PAIN!) Yes, you SHOULD update your story! Or I'll… I'll… I'LL GIVE YOUR SISTER PATH OF RADIANCE SPOILERS SO SHE CAN TORMENT YOU WITH THEM! MWAHAHHAH!

Didactylos: Glad you like the split personality thing.

YamiPhoenixfire: Phoenixfire said that she wasn't going to do that little hints for the next chapter thing, because it makes her life a hastle. So, guess what I'm going to do? (Takes deep breath) Next time on Crimson Rain: See Kindness Run. Run, Kindness, Run! Kindness is Running. Running from who? Why, the dark Kalas, of course! Kalas and the Dark Kalas make a bet…

Phoenixfire: (knocks YamiPhoenixfire out with a large skillet) Stop giving away all my secrets!


	20. Gambit

(A pile of ashes in Phoenixfire's room. Zoom in on pile of ashes. Pile of ashes erupts…)

Phoenixfire: (cough, gasp) And I arise… from the dead!

YamiPhoenixfire: About time… I was starting to worry about you. Do the disclaimer.

Phoenixfire: We don't own Fire Emblem… um, wait, this is Baten Kaitos fanfic. We don't own that either.

Chapter Nineteen: Gambit

Love made an irritated noise as she scanned the church. It had _seemed _like a perfect place to leave Kindness, there was no one around for her to run off and help (thanks to the presence of Despair in the graveyard). No demons either. No way for the idiot child to get into trouble.

Of course, whenever she found a foolproof way to keep said fool out of danger the little moron always managed to circumvent her plans. Usually by failing to stay put.

"DESPAIR!" Love shouted, sticking her head out the window.

"…"

"I know you can hear me. Did you see where Kindness went?"

"No."

Love rolled her eyes. Of _course _Despair hadn't seen anything. Said woman started singing again. And even though the song didn't throw her into a crippling bout of depression the way it would have a normal human, it still grated her nerves. With an annoyed half shriek, Love stormed off, her single pale black wing flaring out before she could contain herself. When she found the brat, she was going to wring her ungrateful neck…

* * *

All Kalas could do was stare. He wanted someone to slap him. Hell, even Xelha and Wake-Up via the Aqua Bursts of Doom would be preferable to this nightmare. Because it had to be a nightmare. A very bad one, with a rather familiar-looking little girl clinging to his cape as his evil twin leered at her and smirked at him.

"So, you're the real Kalas. I don't know why, but I expected you to be… more imposing."

Kalas snorted. "So says the person who stole my face and then proceeded to kill people, which resulted in _me _getting arrested as soon as I got here…"

"Aah, actually, that was all just to piss off Astra. Oh, wait, you call her Astarael, don't you?"

Kalas blinked. "You've been trying to provoke _Astarael_?"

"She's rather easily angered if you know which buttons to press. So… Real Thing, you're here looking for her, aren't you?"

"Why would I tell you if I was?"

"Don't play games, you're bad at it. Why else would you be here? She's one of the very few things in this world that has value…"

Something in the fake Kalas's expression and tone of voice made the real one want to throttle him. If only he had his swords with him… but no, all he had was this idiotic stick that he had picked up from the stupid man in the blue uniform. "Does any of this have a point?"

"Well, yes, it does. I happen to know where Astra is." _That's not her name, imposter, and I never call her that. If you knew anything about me, you should at least have gone to the trouble of learning that_.

"Really? Are you going to share?" Ayme asked sarcastically. Both blue-haired swordsmen started at the sound of her voice. They had forgotten that she and Folon were in the room.

"Well, as a matter of fact, yes. She's standing right behind you, Real Thing."

Kalas looked behind him, half expecting to see his old friend. But no, all that was there was the little girl who had called herself Kindness.

And suddenly, he knew why the kid looked so familiar. She looked like a shrunken version of Astarael.

"Tell you what, since I'm such a nice guy, I'll let you have until… oh, say sunrise to figure this out."

"And how the hell are we supposed to know when sunrise even is in this crazy place?" Kalas snapped.

"Well, that just makes it all the more fun, doesn't it?" asked the Dark Kalas as he headed for the door.

"Where do you think you're going?" Ayme snapped firing off several bullets. The Dark Kalas dodged all attacks and ducked out the doors, careening off into the gloom laughing like a madman.

"You shouldn't shoot things at people!" Kindness implored. "You could have hurt him!"

Three people stared at the girl.

"Um… you _do _realize that he was trying to kill you?"

"Yes, but hurting people is mean!" Kindness insisted.

Everyone stared at the little girl for a few moments. "_This _is the Guardian who helped you whup our asses?" Folon asked Kalas.

"Of course not! She's about ten years too young to be Astarael!" Kalas snapped. _Besides, even when we first bonded, Astarael wasn't _this _bad… _"She's probably a younger sister or something. Now, let's find our real weapons before that imposter gets back!"

* * *

The red-haired woman blocked a downward mace stroke with her own mace and slid inside the monster's guard, proceeding to stab it in the eye in the center of the eye in its stomach. When she did so, the eyeball burst into flame. As it doubled over grabbing its stomach, she dashed off its head with her mace. And yawned.

"Boooooooooring," she sighed, yawning. Something in her tone suggested that she was also rolling her eyes, but the blindfold prevented them from seeing if she was or not. "Hey kid, next time you call me out, make sure there's a real challenge waiting, okay?"

"Um…" The brown-haired girl seemed confused. "What are you, anyway?"

"What am I?" the red-haired woman snarled. "Stupid question, doesn't matter."

"What, don't you remember?" The redhead said nothing, she simply continued to glare at them all from behind her blindfold.

"It doesn't matter. Questions like that always piss me off. You wanna fight, kid?"

"No! I just asked a question! You don't have to be so mean!" Rana shouted.

"Leave the girl alone!" Gibari snapped, stepping in between Rana and the mysterious redhead. "All she did was ask you something."

"I… don't like questions. You… unless you want to fight, leave me alone!" shouted the young woman, turning her back. "You people piss me off. I'm going back to sleep, so I don't have to deal with you anymore." With a flash of blood red light, she vanished, leaving only the glowing half of a medallion where she had been standing. Rana stepped forward and hesitantly picked up the medallion. When it didn't burn or shock her, she tied it back around her neck.

"Um… eheh… I guess you probably want an explanation, right?"

Xelha opened her mouth to ask, but at that moment they were interrupted by yet another shout, this time of annoyance rather than fear.

"GAAH! Where did that brat go this time!" snarled a definitely feminine voice that Xelha thought sounded vaguely familiar. A teenaged woman dressed in a black dress, carrying a bow and quiver stalked around the corner. "You four!" she snapped, brandishing her bow at them like a sword, "Have any of you seen a little girl with blue hair and eyes like mine? Probably running around _healing _the monsters instead of _killing _them like a sane person would?"

"Um… no. I guess we could help you look…"

The tension drained out of the stranger's shoulders, and she lowered her bow. "Thank goodness. She always gets herself into trouble without someone around to watch her, and I'm worried…" she trailed off, suddenly glaring at Xelha. "Have we met before?"

"Um… I don't think so. I'm Xelha," she said, stepping forward to greet her and offering a hand, which the stranger chose not to shake.

"I am… Love. It's… good to meet you, Xelha."

Melodia also came forward and hissed in Xelha's ear, "Do we really have time for this, Xelha? What about Kalas and the others? What about the Guardian?"

"Something is telling me that this is important, Melodia," Xelha retorted, any misgivings she had had before being washed away by Melodia's protests. Telling herself that she _wasn't _simply being childish, she continued, "Of course, if you don't want to help her find her sister, you could always leave. Alone."

Melodia glowered at this but said nothing. She thought that Lyude, at least, was too honorable to let her go off on her own, but she didn't want to press her luck. So she simply stewed in silence as the others came out of the clothing store to join them.

* * *

"Finally, we have our weapons back," Kalas sighed, twirling his sword before returning it and his dagger to magnus form as they left the building.

"You should really be careful with that. Someone could get hurt…"

"Kid," Ayme sighed, clearly getting annoyed. "That is the _point _of weapons. To ki… _hurt_ things."

Kindness frowned. "Well, that's mean. Why do you make something if it only hurts people?"

"To stop people from hurting you," Folon chipped in, smiling cheekily.

"But…!" she trailed off, clearly confused at this point. "Why can't everyone just be friends?" she sighed.

"That's not the way the world works, kid," Kalas sighed. "Where are your parents?"

"I don't have any."

"Is there anyone taking care of you?" he asked, sincerely hoping that there was.

"Um… well, Love usually hangs around me. I'm not sure why, she usually yells at me for helping people out…"

"Is this before or after they try to attack you?"

"Um… sometimes before, sometimes after. But they don't _really _want tohurt me! They're just lost and confused! They just want to go home!" she said cheerily, pointing at Cor Hydrae.

Kalas's eyes widened. "You heal the monsters from Cor Hydrae, too?"

"Someone has to! They have feelings too!" Kindness protested hotly.

Kalas, Ayme, and Folon exchanged a look. Clearly, they were not getting through, weren't going to get through. "So, what does this caretaker of yours look like?" Kalas asked, changing the subject.

"Um… she's got black hair, and she wears black too. Her eyes are like mine. She goes around with a bow and arrows. And she wears flowers in her hair."

_Shouldn't be too hard to find… _"Where was the last place you saw her?"

"The church! It's this way! Follow me!" she replied cheerily. With no real choice but to do so, they trailed behind her, trying not to feel too stupid as they did so.

"Um… do you know Astarael?" Kalas asked her as she skipped along ahead.

"Hmm… Name sounds familiar… um… nope, I don't think so!" she replied. But there was something too… peppy in her reply. For the first time since they had met, the little girl, Kindness, was lying.

* * *

_It is late spring outside the bedroom, almost painfully bright and cheerful. A younger Astarael, one who has clearly not been to Baten Kaitos yet looks out the window, her brown eyes filled with longing._

_It's clear at a second glance that she's not feeling well, her eyes are slightly glazed and rimmed with dark circles. Periodically she will stop in her task of cleaning her bathroom and burst into a fit of coughing or clutch her head in pain, sometimes taking a trip to her bedroom to use the tissue box. The fumes emitted by the harsh cleaning solutions seem only to worsen her condition. Overcome by dizziness, she staggers out of her bathroom, closing the door behind her to trap the fumes with the ceiling fan in hopes that they'll go away. She throws herself on the bed, her expression clearly saying that she wants nothing more than to simply go back to bed and sleep for five or six more hours._

_At the sound of her door opening, she leaps off the bed, fixing an expression of eagerness on her face, one that is not entirely successful in banishing the weariness in her eyes. "Hi, Mommy!" she chirrups, her tone falsely perky._

_The fakeness is not lost on the older woman, her dark brown curls losing the battle with old age and slowly turning a shade of steely gray. However, from her expression, she interprets the reason as being spiteful or cheeky, not an attempt on the part of her daughter to hide exactly how ill she is feeling. "You don't seem to have made a lot of progress."_

_The girl winces, but recovers quickly. "I did the bathroom, though. Want to see?"_

_Without replying, the woman sweeps into the tiny space with an air of command. She takes the limp white towels that are hanging from the rack and glares balefully around the room with the manner of someone who is looking for something to critize. She sweeps the shower curtain back. However, what she sees clearly does not please her. "Did you use the Comet?"_

_The younger Astarael flinches. "Um, no, it didn't look too bad to me, so I used one of the spray bottles instead…"_

"_You stupid girl!" the woman roars. "I told you to use the Comet!"_

"_But-"_

"_Why won't you do anything the way I tell you to! I told you to scrub it down with the Comet, and you – will – use – the Comet!" She pauses in her rant. "Do you have Comet?"_

"_Yes, but…"_

"_And a sponge?"_

"_Two, but…"_

"_Then get started! If you're not done with the room in an hour, you'll have to stop to work on your paper. And you won't be going to church or school until you finish!" she then flies around the room, opening windows, upsetting things that get in her way, and storms out with a final shout of, "And keep the door open! I want to see what you're doing whenever I walk by!"_

_With a glare that is equal parts hurt and angry, Astarael goes around the room and shuts all the windows that were opened, tugging her sweatshirt more tightly around herself as she does so. She picks up everything that was upset and inspects it carefully, lovingly to make sure that each item is unbroken, and puts everything back where it originally sat. "But… those stains aren't going to come out no matter what I scrub with," she says to herself in a whisper, tears welling in her eyes. "Bitch…"_

_She claps her hands over her mouth, her eyes widening in shock and surprise. Then her expression becomes thoughtful for a moment, and as she thinks, her expression hardens to one of pure anger and… a touch of something that might become hatred, if given time to fester._

_She nods once, decisively, and repeats the expletive with more confidence and feeling, although it still has a somewhat foreign sound on her tongue or a word not often used._

"_Bitch."_

_With a defiant expression, the younger Astarael closes her door and locks it. She then, with a shudder and a regretful expression, peels of her sweatshirt and goes to the pointless task of scrubbing out her shower…

* * *

_

With flick of her wrist, a green-haired teen the same age as the Astarael in the memory dispelled the scene. Her yellow eyes narrowed at the space where memory-Astarael had stood only moments before. Days and days spent here, trying to figure out what emotions felt like, and she was no closer than before. She threw herself on the full-sized bed, much as Astarael was wont to do when she was still whole, and sighed. As she fell on the bed, her appearance changed drastically. She seemed to gain three years as she fell, her hair lengthened to waist-length, and her clothing shifted to a baggy dark green t-shirt and pale jade slacks. The only thing that remained constant was her chronos-green clock earrings and hourglass pendant. She sighed again and rose from the bed, drifting over to an old-fashioned mirror, the wooden border carved with roses. The clock on the left side was stopped at 7:53, the other turned still. As long as the right clock continued to turn, she still had time to remember what emotions felt like.

And maybe if she could remember what emotions felt like, instead of just recognizing them, she could persuade the others to become whole again. Because, as Memory, she knew without a doubt that if the nine of them did not re-unite, they would be destroyed.

* * *

YamiPhoenixfire: This would be where we would give out reviewer responses, but with the invention of the almighty 'Reply' option, we can't do that in the story anymore. Phoenixfire wants me to tell you anonymous reviewers out there that she loves you all anyway… but meh, I don't do sappy things like that.

Review, minions! And Iname, I know you're not dead. As a matter of fact, I know where you live. SO UPDATE YOUR FANFIC!

Phoenixfire: (throws a dust rag) Be nice.

YamiPhoenixfire: (hits send button while coughing)


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